Walking Alongside the Tams
by supercode
Summary: Takes place after Serenity. After finding out the horrible truth about what really happened to River at the Alliance Academy, Gabriel and Regan Tam set out to find their wayward children, bring them home (along with the crew of Serenity), and get their revenge on the Alliance government in the process. How? By filming their own reality show, of course! Rating now M.
1. Prologue

**This is my first Firefly/Serenity fan fiction, so I hope you all enjoy it! Walking Alongside the Tams takes place right after the events of the end of the BDM, but there are some AU moments, as well as an extended scene from the film thrown in. Some elements of my take on the Operative were also inspired by another fanfic writer, Hawki, and his own own Serenity story which featured the same character as the protagonist. However, I do not expect I will be incorporating too many elements from the Serenity graphic novels or the movie novelization.**

 **Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Firefly, Serenity, or any of their related characters or properties. Those all belong to their respective owners. Otherwise, Firefly would still be on the air and gearing up for it's third or fourth movie tie-in right about now. The point of my rant is, please don't sue me, Fox. I'm not writing this story to make money.**

" _If they take you down...I don't expect to grieve over much...I'm like to kill you myself, if I see you again..."_

" _You won't. There is nothing left to see..."_

" _Serenity...You lost everything in that battle. Everything you had, everything you were. How could you go on?"_

The man with no name (he knew he had possessed one once, but his memory of his life before had been entirely erased, part of the initiation for every person in his profession), no title, and no designation other than "Operative", ruminated over this conversation several minutes. The Captain, nay, the Sergeant, had left Relay Station 2E with his crew and newly repaired vessel less than an hour ago, but his own question, the one Malcolm Reynolds wouldn't, or perhaps, couldn't, answer still haunted him. For this place, a celestial body too small to even be considered a moon, whose sole inhabitant, like many of its recent visitors, was now deceased, was the Operative's Serenity Valley.

His faith in the government which the Operative had given up his life, his freedom, and even his own memories for, had been forever shattered once he had seen the results of the Alliance's attempts to create a single world without sin. Millions dead (once of which the Operative was forced to watch die while she screamed), and thousands more suffering a fate far worse than their former kith and kin who still lied dead on the lifeless husk that had once been a bustling colony called Miranda. All caused by an attempt to create one of the perfect worlds that the Operative had hoped to achieve when he had killed so many innocent men, women, and children during his carrer. And only now, at this moment, did the Operative realize that his efforts had been in vain. Not just in vain, but abominable. And that was something that the formally loyal Alliance agent did not know how to live with.

The Operative had known he was a monster the first time he tortured a man to death for information many years ago. He had known, ever since that day, that his actions, however necessary, were evil. That even if he succeeded in his efforts to help the Alliance create a perfect 'Verse, he would never see that paradise. For one last evil person would have to pay for his crimes as he fell on the Operative's blade before that dream of perfection could be achieved:himself. However, up until several days ago, the Operative had believed that all of the actions he had taken to create a paradise, to create order out of the chaos that was the 'Verse, would be worth all of the suffering he had caused, and that one day, he would fall on his own blade with a smile on his face, knowing that he had helped the Alliance bring about a better future for all of humanity: a world without sin.

But now, after seeing firsthand what had happened to Miranda, the Operative knew that the perfection that the Alliance had promised him was not only a lie, it was completely unobtainable. Like the promises of the sirens of legend, whose voices had lured men to their deaths, the Alliance's dream of perfecting humanity was a pipe dream that the Operative now realized could only end one way, over and over again, in the ruination and destruction of human lives.

Every person the Operative had ever killed had died for nothing.

When he had first learned this hard truth, the Operative had wanted to take his own life. But by the time his arms had healed enough to move them, the (former) Alliance agent had realized that suicide, in his particular case, would be a coward's death. For the Operative now knew he had spent his entire remembered life killing for nothing, and if he killed himself now, he would die for nothing as well.

Since this realization had dawned on him, while he and the men under his command had helped to repair Serenity, the Operative had ruminated on the question of what he should do with his life now. But now, as he stood in the rain, staring at the position that Serenity had once occupied, the Operative knew that there was still one last thing that he needed to do with his life. He had to make the Alliance, who even now, refused to learn from their mistakes, pay for every Academy, Serenity Valley, Shadow, and Miranda they had ever created. For the Operative knew that, as evil as he, the Alliance's puppet, was, his former masters' efforts to force perfection on the 'Verse over and over again, despite possessing an orgy of evidence that their attempts were futile, made them a thousand times worse..

'Thankfully', the Operative thought while he smirked, even though there was not a single trace of joy in his eyes, 'I have the means to make them pay for all of the evil they have caused. All the evil I have done in their name.' The dark skinned man (for he knew that, after today, he would never be an Operative again) touched the personal data pad in his inside pocket, which was filled with data concerning virtually every one of the Alliance's dirty little secrets, just to insure himself the object that was so essential to this plan was still there. The man with no name allowed himself a half-smile. 'By the time the Alliance finds out what I'm up to, it will be to late, and their regime will be all but gone...'

* * *

Osiris, Two hours later..

Gabriel Tam and his wife, Regan, were unpacking the groceries they had just picked up from the local farmer's market while watching Regan's favorite reality show (in truth, Gabriel detested shows in that genre, but he occasionally indulged his wife by watching one of her programs with her on his rare days off). However, the husbands and wife were soon startled when the image of two equally anorexic, equally white women (one blonde, one brunette) arguing over a man they both desired was replaced by the image of a single African American man who began speaking as soon as his visage became visible to the millions of people in the Central Planets who had now become his unwitting audience. Even as the mysterious man spoke, Gabriel noticed that there were several dead men in Alliance soldier gear, lying dead behind the black man."People of the Core Worlds. This message is for you. You who believe you government is benevolent. That the Alliance has the best interest of the Entire 'Verse at heart in whatever they do. I once believed this as well. But I am here to show you that this belief is a lie..."

"Hwun dan!" Gabriel Tam cursed as he attempted to change the channel while simultaneously reaching for the Cortex pad on his desk to tell someone in authority that the local network, and perhaps, the entire Osiris communications network, had been hacked by yet another misguided terrorist. But shortly after Gabriel noticed that the mysterious black man was on every channel, he saw something that made him drop his Cortex pad back on the table, even as the Operative kept speaking as images of countless dead, but preserved, bodies were shown to his viewers, all while Regan started held her hand to her mouth in a silent sign of alarm."The images I am showing you now are shocking, I know. But they substantiate, not only my claims, but also a transmission that was sent from this same location only days ago. A transmission that I'm afraid, did not reach many of you in of you in the heart of Alliance space because the sender did not have the Cortex authorization codes I possess..."

The holographic image of a woman, clad in a uniform that was clearly Alliance government issue, appeared on the screen. The woman in question explained that the Alliance had, unintentionally, caused the death of an entire colony on a world near the edge of the Blue Sun planetary system, a world named Miranda. The Tams stared in shocked silence as the hologram's words and then the shocking manner of the original message sender's death, also made it clear that the Alliance had also been responsible for the creation of the much maligned Reavers, beings which, up until now, the older couple had only thought to be creatures of myth."

Regan looked nauseous as she attempted to reach for the power button on the remote when the transmission showed the Reavers starting to eat the woman on screen, only to have Gabriel. whose face was now a stoic mask, quickly steal the remote out of her hand. Regan glared at her husband. "Turn that gos se off this instant, Gabriel! We shouldn't be watching this tasteless transmission, which was clearly doctored up some radical Independent sympathizers..."

Gabriel firmly shook his head. "This transmission is most certainly more graphic than I would like, Regan, but I can assure you, it is not a fake. Growing up, my father was the Chief Security Specialist on Osiris, and he always hoped that I would follow in his his footsteps. That's why before he died, he spend almost a decade teaching me some of the tricks of his trade; going over declassified transmissions, security camera disks, and other electronic media, and I will stake my life on the fact that this pulse beacon message shows no signs of tampering or forgery. I hate to say it, but it all fits. We both heard about a planet called Miranda being settled years ago. About the colonization effort being scrapped without a single clear reason being given. Furthermore, the woman on the transmission uses the same kind of jargon, has the same older style of Alliance uniform, and is using the same outdated transmission technology that a government worker would have used at that time. I can't be absolutely sure, of course, but I truly believe this transmission may be authentic."

Regan shook her head. "That couldn't be true, Gabriel! Our government couldn't have done something like this! I mean, some of the members of Parliament that we have dinner with a couple of times every year were supervising the colonization of Miranda! Our friends, Gabriel! You don't seriously think our friends could have allowed something like this to happen!?"

Gabriel Tam shook his head. "I honestly don't know, Regan. But I suggest we keep watching this man's wave to find out." Regan just nodded, still holding back tears, and the older couple both ignored the alert signals on their Cortex pads while they continued to watch the former Operative's Transmission. By now, the picture had changed to another government facility that the Tams had seen before, but only in a few pictures on a spiffy looking brochure.

The Tams hearts fell to their stomach's in fear, even as the African American man kept talking. "Unfortunately, the Alliance government is responsible for a great many atrocities besides the destruction of one plan. You may even have heard whispers of some them. The destruction of an entire world of non-violent farmers on the planet Shadow, Dust Devils killed without a trial, and so on. But most of you have never even heard of the place I am showing you now., and an even smaller number know this facility's true purpose. The Alliance simply calls this place the Academy. But it is not an institution of learning, in the traditional sense."

Regan gasped and put her hand over her mouth, while Gabriel was paralyzed with fear and shock, as images of numerous children, most of them in their teens, but some as young as five years old, where shown. Each child had their arms and legs strapped firmly to a chair, and many of them had needles jabbed inside their sides, arms or heads. Although the children ran the gambit in terms of age, ethnicity, and general appearance, all of them were obviously scared out of their minds. Especially the ones who were screaming. Despite the unsettling imagery of children being tortured that was being shown to his audience, however, the mysterious man's voice was calm. "Rather, this is a place where they take Core-world children, yes, your children, away to be experimented on."

Up until this point, Gabriel Tam had been able to keep his emotional guard up, as he told himself repeatedly that the dark man who was airing this transmission could not possibly be talking about the facility that the Tams were thinking of right now. That surely his family were good people that had nothing to fear from the Alliance...But the man's denial was quickly swept away when Gabriel and his wife saw the image of a familiar, screaming girl appear on the screen. The young woman was slightly older than the elder Tams had ever seen her, and her hair and clothes were unusually unkempt for the formerly tidy person they remembered. But the brunette hair, hazel eyes, and striking facial features left no doubt in the parents' minds that they were now witnessing a recording of their daughter being tortured while she shouted something about monsters, all while the voice of the man with no name droned on. "This is where the Alliance turns your children into weapons!"

"Wuh de tyen, ah!" Gabriel softly whispered as he suddenly slipped into a deep state of dread, shock, and sadness even as he was finally able to bring himself to turn off the television.. "That's her. That's our River!"

Then for the first time in his entire life, Gabriel Tam's emotional walls came down entirely, and as the Tam patriarch collapsed onto a nearby couch, the man began to cry. Gabriel Tam barely registered Regan's presence for several seconds, even though his wife was just as distraught as he was, and apart from lifting his arm to let the woman who was balling her eyes out put her head on his chest when she sat down beside her husband, the man did not even acknowledge her existence during that moment in time as he thought out loud. "My fault. My daughter was going through hell in that place, for who knows how long before Simon found her, because I sent her to the Academy! This is all my fault!"

Regan tried to wipe the tears away from her eyes, even though they were still falling, as she lifted her head to speak to her husband. "That is not true! River wanted to go the Academy, so you sent her their to further her education! Their is no way that you or I could have known..."

The sadness in Gabriel Tam's eyes only deepened then, and he moved his face away from Regan's hand as she attempted to console him. The Tam patriarch shook his head. "Simon knew. He figured it out almost a year ago, remember!? He told us that River was sending us messages in code, telling us she was in trouble, but I just brushed it off as just another one of River's games!"

Regan sighed. "We both thought that was all that was happening, bao bay! You can't blame yourself!"

Gabriel shook his head. "That's easy for you to say! You weren't the one that practically disowned our son!"

Regan's eyes widened. "What do you mean?!"

Gabriel hung his head down in shame. "It was the last time I saw Simon. The night I had to leave that dinner party early in order to bail him out after he went to a blackout zone. I was so angry...I thought he was throwing away his future, our family's good name, based on some childish game gone too far! I never dreamed that our daughter was actually endangered! So, when Simon told me he was going back to the blackout zone to look for River, I...I lost my temper. Horribly. And I told him that if he got in trouble looking for River again, I wouldn't bail him out a second time. And I'm pretty sure that is why Simon and River didn't come home after the two of them became fugitives. Simon must have thought that I wouldn't help him or Rever evade the authorities, that I wouldn't take his word over our government's. Maybe he even thought I would turn him and River in to the Alliance!"

The tears returned like a flood on Gabriel's face, and the angry look that had been on Regan's countenance just moments ago melted away into one of sympathy as her husband resumed his verbal self-flagellation. "Like I said, this is all my fault. I failed both of our children in the worst way possible and now I don't know what to do to fix that!"

Regan waited several more seconds for Gabriel to cease crying; then, after drying his tears, the normally image-conscious woman ignored the mascara running down her own face as she spoke. "We do the only thing we can do, Gabriel. What we should have done a long time ago. We are going to find our children and bring them home!"

 **And so ends the prologue of this story! I hope you liked it, because I am hoping to put the next chapter up soon! But please leave me a review or PM to let me know what you really think of the beginning of my humble little tale about friends, love, reconciliation, and just what it means to be part of a family! I know this depiction of the elder Tams is already different than is often shown in fan fiction, but after watching Safe for the Nth time, depictions of the Tams as cold, heartless parents who only care about their wealth and family name just didn't sit right with me. Even in the flashbacks that occurred just before Simon went to save River, it seemed to me that there was genuine concern for his son's welfare underneath Gabriel's harsh words towards Simon. But that's just my opinion, albeit an opinion that is the driving force behind this fan fiction.**

 **Parings for this story will include Gabriel/ Regan, Simon/Kaylee and eventual Malcolm/Inara .River and Jayne will also eventually develop relationships over the course of the story, but those parings are yet to be determined. I know that River/Jayne is a popular pairing, but I have some problems with that potential paring due to the number of times Jayne has attempted to betray the Tams on the show and even once during the film ("We're going for a nice shuttle ride!). However, I could perhaps be persuaded to write such a paring if my concerns on this matter were put to rest.**

 **I would like to thank Browncoats dot Com for the Chinese phrases from the show that I will be using for this story. I would also like to thank my beta reader, without whom, my writing would be as unintelligible as River's words on one of her bad days. Your help is greatly appreciated!**

 **Until next time, I am...**

 **supercode**


	2. Reunions pt 1

Persephone, several weeks later

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Captain?" Zoe Wasburne spoke with an almost monotone inflection as she and Malcolm Reynolds exited Serenity and started walking on the pavement around the abandoned part of the Eavesdown Docks that their ship had landed on. "Going to a world so close to the Core? After we sent that transmission on Miranda, and that hwun dan Alliance agent sent a follow up wave a little while later, the whole crew are among the most wanted in the 'Verse. So, I'm asking you again, sir. Are you sure it was a good idea to bring us into Alliance space right now?"

Jayne Cobb's upper lip was turned up into a snarl as he exited Serenity right behind the captain and his first mate. "Of course it's not a good idea! Why did you bring us so close to the feds, Mal? Gorramit! Do you want us all to get locked away? We are public enemies number one!" The bearded man scratched his cheek for a second. "Well, I guess we can't all be number one on the wanted list, because there is more than one of us...But still, there has to be work somewhere else! Something else for us to do! I would sooner fight Reavers again then..."

Jayne stopped talking after Zoe glared at him for mentioning Reavers, and the mercenary tried to

apologize to the dark-skinned woman as she walked away from him."Hey, come on, Zoe! I was just waxing metaphorical! I didn't mean nothing by it! Wash was a...was a...well, he was great gorram pilot, is what he was! I was just agreeing with you that us taking a job here is a yu bun duh idea and..."

Mal suddenly turned towards the mercenary and glared at him, even as Zoe stopped walking so that she could listen to her Captain speak his mind. "Hey! Taking a job this close to the Central planets maybe a yu bun duh idea, but it is my idea! And seeing how you both..." Malcolm turned to his first mate to address her as well. "Are part of my crew, this is the yu bun duh plan we are all going to go with! Besides..."

The captain sighed. "This is the only job I could get us after that Gos se that went down at Mr. Universe's place. Everyone else, every other contact that has ever given us work, is either dead, in hiding, or just plain refusing to work with us after everything that has happened. Even Lord Harrow is

too spooked to give us work now, and he's a member of Parliament! Badger is the only living person that will still hire us! Now, you know I don't trust Badger one wit, and he looked a lot more nervous in the wave he sent us than I'm comfortable with. But look, our cupboards, and our stomachs, are all empty, Serenity is badly in need of repair since half the parts the Alliance gave us were gos se, and we are almost completely out of gas! The only reason we didn't crash land on this planet was because River was able to use some creative navigation on the way here in order to save us fuel! Be that as it may, even though River is a better pilot than I am, and I've only seen one person fly Serenity better than her..."

"Wash." Zoe interrupted her captain. "Hoban Washburne. It's okay to say his name, captain." The first mate turned to Jayne. "And my husband was a great gorram pilot. Thanks for saying so."

Zoe scowled. "But the captain's right. If this is the only job we got, we gotta make good. I just hope Badger's offer is on the level..."

"Offers on the level, captain..." The owner of a familiar voice called out to Malcolm and his two companions, who promptly turned around to look at their ships resident kwong-juh duh turned pilot, River Tam, who was practically dragging her brother, Simon, behind her with one hand. River continued speaking, heedless of her brother's blushing, or the looks the other members of the crew were giving Serenity's resident doctor, whose shirt had the top three buttons unfastened. ""But the offers not from the sad little king!" River pointed to her head with a smirk. "She knows these things!"

Malcolm raised one eyebrow. "I'm not quite sure what you are babbling about nyen ching-duh, but I thought I asked you to stay on the ship. You're the pilot, now. You need to stay at the cockpit in case things go bad here and we need you to give us a quick exit!"

River giggled, then raised her right leg towards Serenity. "She don't have enough juice for take off, much less a quick get away! Used all she had left to land on this sad little hill without making us all go splat! Besides, Simon and I both need to go with you!" The smile fell away from River's face as she let her bare foot touch the ground again to help support her meager weight. "It is important."

"Yes..." Simon Tam was still blushing, but he was at least able to finish buttoning up his shirt . "River was quite insistent on that point. Said we had to drop everything..." Simon glared slightly at his little sister, who simply smiled mischievously in response as her brother kept talking. "And I do mean everything, and come with you all right away. She either couldn't, or wouldn't, say why, but I've learned to trust her instincts on things like this."

Mal threw his hands up in the air. "Fine! I told you both to stay on the the ship, but since you are already here, and you wouldn't be much safer, or more useful, back there anyway, I guess you can both come along. Just don't come crying to me if you both get killed! Although, I suppose you couldn't actually cry then..."

Malcolm turned his attention to Simon. " By the way, do I even want to know why your clothes are wrinkled and your shirt was halfway unbuttoned just now? Because I distinctly heard you say that you were going to be busy in the infirmary for a couple hours and didn't want to be disturbed while you were working..."

Simon Tam's face resumed blushing. "Um, yes. Well, I was in the infirmary. And I guess you could say I was quite busy for awhile. In a manner of speaking..."

Simon's words were soon interrupted, however, by Kaylee, as the latter party ran out of the ship, off Serenity's ramps, and raced towards Simon and River while shouting. "That weren't nice, River! Couldn't ya have waited another five minutes to..."

Only just now realizing that her captain, Zoe, and Jayne were still standing less than a dozen yards away from Serenity, the mechanic, whose clothes were just a tiny bit wrinkled, amended her words a little bit. "To let Simon help me finish up what repairs I could make in the engine room!"

Kaylee chuckled and added. "Yeah, captain! We were so close to fixing this one bit that...'

Zoe smirked. "That's very interesting, Kaylee, because Simon was just telling us he was in the infirmary when River dragged him off the ship! So, unless one of you was lying, that means Simon was in two places at once! How incredible!"

Relishing the look of deep discomfort on Simon's face, Jayne grinned and said. "It must have been a gorram miracle, that!"

Kaylee huffed. "Fine! Simon and I were ruttin around in the infirmary, okay? Women have needs, you know..."

Mal held up his right hand, even as Simon looked at the ground and blushed uncontrollably. "I'm just going to stop you right there. Anyway, what you and the doc get up to when we don't have a job to do ain't none of my business. What I will not tolerate is being lied to by my own crew. Understood?" Simon and Kaylee nodded before the captain resumed speaking. "Shiny. Now.."

But once again, Serenity's captain was unable to finish his sentence as the seventh, and final, unofficial member of his crew departed the Firefly, distracting the captain with just how well the black and red dress she was wearing fit her. All eyes were on Inara when she exited Serenity, and the dark haired woman smiled at the attention she was getting before she spoke. "Well, this is a bit of of a surprise.. I thought only three of you were going to deal with Badger, but clearly everyone else decided to come along too. I only came because I thought that I might be able to help you, Jayne, and Zoe with whatever caper you might have planned, Mal. You know, since the Companions Guild no longer counts me among its members now that I am a wanted fugitive...I honestly could use the money. However, clearly, you already have enough people to help you, so I'll just be getting back to the ship."

Mal shook his head. "No. I mean, you might as well come along now. Everybody else on the crew is already here and...You know. Safety in numbers and all that. And I'm sure we'll be findin' some use for you on this job, whatever it is. You'll get a fair share of the spoils, too, just like everybody else who helps out."

Inara nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Mal."

"Ain't no need to thank me. You're part of my crew." Mal turned back towards the rest of his crew as he talked loud enough for all of them, including a smirking River Tam, to hear him. "What are you all standing around for? We're supposed to meet Badger somewhere around this area in less than a minute. We're already going to be late, so let's get a move on!"

"Actually..." A voice called out from behind one of the long-ago condemned buildings that littered this part of the docks. "You're all right on time! The man you call Badger won't be joining you I'm afraid. He was just a middle man. A rather reluctant middle-man at that. Forgive our deception, but..."

A middle aged man stepped out into the open, and an equally aged woman stepped out onto the docks behind him. Both individuals had dark hair marred by many patches of gray, had bags around there eyes, as if they had not been sleeping for many nights, and striking facial features that every member of Serenity's crew found familiar, although only two among their number knew why that was. "We're afraid it was necessary, captain. It's taken us so long to find a way to find who we were looking for, and we had to use every means at our disposal to make sure we didn't loose them again."

The older man looked right at Simon and River, but the the former party only cursed under his breath, "Jien tah-duh guay!" while his eyes turned cold, his hands clenched into fists, and his mouth set into a hard, straight line. For her part, River's face was a completely expressionless mask, and her gaze seemed to be focused not on the older couple in front of her, but through them, into the middle distance. Finally, noticing that nobody was talking, and that the older couple's presence was making two of his crew members uneasy, Malcolm cleared his throat. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mr., so you and the Mrs. better speak plain. Who are you? Why did you go to so much trouble to get us here? And what do you want with my crew?"

The older couple exchanged glances before the gray haired man stuck out his hand towards Mal and forced a smile. "Of course. Where are my manners? I am Dr. Gabriel Tam." Seeing that the captain wasn't going to shake his hand, Gabriel withdrew it and made a gesture towards the woman that had come with him to the Eavesdown Docks. "And you were correct in assuming that this lovely woman is my wife, Regan Tam. We are here to offer your crew an...opportunity of sorts. An opportunity to make the 'Verse a better place, while making yourselves a whole lot of money! But the biggest reason we are here is to bring our children home! To be with their family, where they belong!"

Kaylee audibly gasped, while the rest of Serenity's crew, minus the Tams, looked at each other in concern as Simon glared at his father. "Serenity is our home now. And other than River, this crew is the closest thing I have to a family. You're the one who made it very clear to me, the last time we talked, that you would no longer consider me your son if I kept looking for River. And yet, here you are again, trying to bring us both home. And I don't trust you any further than I can throw you, Why are you here, Gabriel? Did that gambling habit of yours finally get you into trouble, and now you want to turn us all over to the Alliance for the reward money? I heard we're all worth millions of credits now! So I'm just wondering what exciting new ways you've come up with to ruin mine and River's lives this time?!"

Regan Tam let a single tear fall from her eyes as she covered her mouth with one hand. "Simon!" Gabriel Tam, for his part, had a melancholy, guilty look in his eyes, but his lips turned down into a scowl, and the man looked ready to shout, before the man's daughter finally stopped staring out into nothingness and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "They should all go with them. It will be alright."

River turned to Simon and slowly unclenched one of his fists with her hands as she whispered to her brother. "They did not know before, Simon. Didn't understand and didn't want to believe. But they have seen and believe now. The dark man showed them what the bad people did to her. "

River spoke louder to address her parents and the crew. "And now they want to help. Even though she is beyond helping and broken now. The river has been damned up by man-made rocks."

Tears filled Gabriel Tam's eyes. "Why are you speaking about yourself in third person, River? What has the Alliance done to you?!'" The older man shook his head and wiped the moisture away from his face. "It doesn't matter. I have some of the best medical equipment and personnel money can buy available to me now, and we will do everything we can to make you better! Please come home with us!"

Simon turned to River. "Are you sure we can trust them, Mei-mei?" River just nodded, and Simon sighed deeply before looking at his parents and nodding.

Gabriel and Regan sighed in relief as their two offspring slowly walked towards them, although their efforts to hug their children were rejected. Regan then turned towards the rest of Serenity's crew, and noted with some interest that, while all of the members of Serenity's crew looked worried that their children had decided to come with them, one young girl with brown hair and hazel eyes seemed especially distraught at Simon and River's choice. In an attempt to alleviate the crew members' concerns, Regan Tam forced a smile and spoke. "However, although my husband and I mainly came here to bring our children home, we also have a business proposition for the entire crew, as my husband said. A job, as it were, which will require you to spend a bit more time around our family. Full disclosure, this job might expose your crew to some danger, but you will all be will compensated, and..." The older woman snarled. "Give us all an opportunity to get our revenge on every hwun-dan in the the Alliance government that tortured our daughter, tried to hunt down our children, and has caused everyone here no end of trouble!"

Malcolm Reynolds took a quick look around, then turned towards the Tams. "Here's how it is. If Simon and River trust you, than I will at least hear you out about your job offer. Especially if it involves causing the Alliance a spot of trouble. But we're as sitting ducks out here. Might there be a safer, more private place we could be doing business?"

Gabriel nodded. "Yes. Of course. Forgive us. This criminal lifestyle is so new to my wife and I. You understand. We do, in fact, have a meeting place set up just inside this building!" The elder Tams led the crew of Serenity into the abandoned building they had just stepped out of. As the whole group was walking down a dark hallway, then down a flight of stairs to the basement of the building, Gabriel Tam resumed talking. "Dangerous times we are living in. When good, honest folks like my family can't trust their own government anymore and are forced to become criminal, well...that's a hard 'Verse to live in. And it's even harder to find people you can trust when one is defying the Alliance. However, I was still able to find one ally. The man who helped me and my wife find all of you, and arranged for Badger to set this whole meeting up. He's a rather unpleasant character, I'm afraid, and I wouldn't trust him at all,under ordinary circumstances, but..." Gabriel shrugged. "Needs must. Besides, the man did say he owed me a favor after I saved his life during a business trip to Ezra about fifteen years ago. Not that he gave me a choice, you understand. But then again, the man was desperate. Not many doctors outside of the core worlds know how to treat brain parasites, you know. Anyway, afterwards, he said that, since I had saved his life, If I ever had need of anything, I just had to ask, and he would would help me get it. And for all of the man's many flaws, he takes pride on keeping his word in order to maintain a solid reputation."

Many of the crew members exchanged looks then, but Gabriel didn't notice this as he continued speaking while using a small key to unlock the door to one of the rooms in the basement. "So, when I told him my wife's plan, and that we needed to find the crew of Serenity, he immediately agreed to help us. Seemed almost eager to help us find you, as a matter of fact, and he wanted to meet you all and help us explain the plan to you as well. He's been very helpful, Mr. Adelai..."

"Niska!" Jayne, Malcolm, and Zoe exclaimed simultaneously after the door was opened.

The wrinkled face of the elderly, white-haired, balding, and bespectacled man in question smiled. " You should all see your faces right about now! Welcome, Captain Reynolds and friends! It has been a very long time indeed since we have all seen each other, yes? Now..."

The elderly man pulled out a black object that none of Serenity's crew were familiar with, although it had a lens similar to those used in laser weapons. The whole crew tensed up, and several hands reached for guns in their holsters, waiting for an attack from the man that was speaking. "I want you all to take this moment in. Because this is the most important moment in all of your lives. So please, give the 'Verse a gorram smile!"

Then, before the member's of Mal's crew could do anything, a dot began to glow on the device in Niska's hands, and the crew were quickly blinded by the quick flash that followed the device's activation. And for a moment, the world of the entire crew of Serenity went black..

 **AN: Hello, readers! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, but please let me know if you think I am getting Joss Whedon's characters and 'Verse "right." I know I can never truly do justice to one of the most underappreciated (at the time of it's original airing) show of all time, but I can sure as heck try, so please let me know how I am doing in a review and/PM. Also, I would like to thank all of my readers of this story for giving this story your time and attention, especially** _ **Cowgirlcadet1701, Hawki,**_ **and** _ **bjq,**_ **who reviewed the prologue of this story. Thank you all for your support and input! Oh, and sorry for the cliffhanger of sorts, but I'm sure some of you have already figured out what is really going on at the end of this chapter...**

 **A special thanks goes out to my beloved beta reader, without whom this story would be uglier than Atherton Wing's personality. Thank you so much for your help!**

 **Until next time, I am...**

 **...supercode**


	3. Reunions pt 2

"Hwun dan!" Although the flash from the device Niska was holding temporarily blinded Serenity's crew, as well as the elder Tams, Jayne, Zoe, and Malcolm were all able to use muscle memory to pull their guns out of their holsters and point them at the crime boss before their sense of sight returned to them. At the same time, Kaylee pulled out a small wrench that she had stored somewhere on her person, and held it up towards Niska's head while trying to look as menacing as possible. Everyone else just looked startled or frightened, except for River, whose face had a blank look to it as she simply blinked until her vision had returned.

Malcolm snarled. "What are you playing at, you..."

But the captain's words were interrupted by those of Gabriel Tam. "Mr. Niska, I think you hit the flash button for the camera setting instead of video! Here, let me show you!"

While the rest of Serenity's crew was still processing the fact that Niska was trying to record them for some reason, not kill them, River rolled her eyes and chuckled softly. "Ha. You all made a face!" But the young woman then quickly turned her gaze towards Niska and started glaring at the crime boss.

A slight blush crept over Niska's cheeks, but it only lasted for a moment. "No, I have got it. My English is, shall we say, not so solid when it comes to written words. But I think I get it now. This is the right button for video, yes?" Gabriel Tam simply nodded as Niska prepared to press another button on the device in his hands, as he spoke to Serenity's crew without looking at them. "It would be...how do you say...prudent, for you to put your weapons away now, yes? I am not here to hurt you, but my men may feel differently if your trigger fingers get too...twitchy."

That was the moment that most of Malcolm's crew noticed that there were several armed men in the same room as them, Niska, and the Tams, and that said men were now raising their own weapons at the Firefly's crew. Malcolm, Zoe, Kaylee, and Jayne all let out a collective sigh as the lowered their weapons, while the rest of the crew drew back slightly, away from Niska's goons. Meanwhile, River just continued glaring right at Niska.

Gabriel and Regan Tam also sent their own glare in the crime boss's direction while Regan shouted. "You promised that you wouldn't hurt them!"

Niska simply gestured towards his men, who lowered their guns, before turning towards the Tam matriarch. "I promised your children, your offspring, and all their friends, safety, if they follow the plan, despite the...troubles they have caused for me and my operations in the past. And they are not dead. They raised guns towards me, and they are still alive. I am a man of my word, yes?"

Regan nodded when she saw the dangerous glint in Niska's eye after she had questioned his trustworthiness. The crime boss smiled. "Good. I am glad that you understand that I am man of my word. That my words, are, how do you say? Trustworthy. Solid. I do not like it when people question my honor, Mrs. Tam. It would be prudent not to do so again. But..." Niska raised up his right index finger. "A man must still be cautious. Keep himself safe, yes? That is why I brought these men along."

Niska pointed towards his henchmen as he looked right at Malcolm and Zoe. "I had to hire new crew, who I will introduce to you later, after that...unpleasant business between us at my Skyplex. That was an unfortunate time for all of us, me thinks. Although I dare I think I got the worst end of the deal that day."

Malcolm glared at Adelai, "Are you gorram kidding me, after what you did to me and Wash..."

Niska held up his hand, not noticing the way Zoe flinched when Wash's name was mentioned. "Is...unimportant. It all happened long ago, yes? I got my pound of flesh, then you and man you call Wash got away, and I have new men now. And I have a job for all of you no one else can do for me. So we should, how do you say...Let bygones be bygones. You all wish to hurt the Alliance, yes? Then do this job for me, and help me put an end to their...regime. The choice is yours, Captain Reynolds."

Malcolm shrugged while he looked at Niska's twelve gunmen. "Given that you have all the guns, I don't reckon there's much choosing to be done. You have us over a barrel here, Niska. We all know it. And not that I'm complaining, because I really ain't, but why are we still alive, and why do you want to hurt the Alliance so badly? Me and my crew have reasons a plenty to hate them purple bellies, but as far as I know, except for being a general nuisance to your criminal operations, they've never done anything to you. So why spare us and stick your neck out to hurt them?"

Niska snarled. "On the contrary, Captain Reynolds. I have as much reason as your crew to hate the Alliance. Perhaps more. I had a son. His name was Gregory. He was a strong, smart boy. A shame my wife had insisted on him staying out of the family business. He would have made a great heir to my empire." The old man sighed as he sat in the only chair present in the room. "Still, he had bright future. My wife and I sent Gregory to best schools in the Rim so that he could become a lawyer one day. It was at university that he learned more about the Alliance. The ways they were trying to, what is the word? Subjugate the outer planets, even before war. Gregory became very political then, very anti-Alliance." Niska's eyes had a far away look to them as he continued speaking. "When Gregory volunteered to be officer for the Independents when war started, we tried to change his mind. My wife and I were never political people. We told Gregory, 'Is crazy. You can't beat Alliance on the battlefield. They are too strong. Stay at university. Become lawyer so you can fight the Alliance with the law, from inside!' But he would not listen. So he went to war. And, just as my wife and I feared . The Alliance killed him. He died at the battle of Sturges."

The old man's face hardened as his jaw clenched "Worse, I later found out, through my organization, that entire battle of Sturges was fought over large cache of money that the Alliance never found. My son died for no reason. And that, Mr. Reynolds...is why you are still alive and I am willing to work with you again. To hurt Alliance. Because I hate them more than I hate you."

Malcolm and Zoe traded glances before the former party spoke to the Niska, who hadn't moved or spoken for several seconds. "Zoe and I knew your son. Captain Gregory Niska, wasn't it?" Adelai only nodded, so Reynolds kept speaking. "His company fought alongside ours several times. Saved our hides on more then one occasion. He was a good man, After Shadow..." Malcolm closed his eyes for a moment, then gulped, even as Inara put one of her hands on Malcolm's right shoulder for a brief moment before she removed it. "Well, after what happened, he even offered to introduce me to his father after the war, so I could work for your organization. Hell, that's the only reason I accepted a job offer from you, despite your rep. I thought if a good man like Gregory vouched for you, that you couldn't be as bad as people say. But I guess that even the best men can have blinders on when it comes to their family, even for someone like you..."

Niska got up from his chair and strode over towards Malcolm's direction, until he was uncomfortably close to the ship captain, "Our first two interactions were mutually disappointing for both of us, yes? However, I am willing to overlook past...unpleasantness, and help your crew, and the Tams, get revenge on Alliance. But only if you treat me some respect, yes?" Niska pulled out a pocket knife from his front shirt pocket, just enough for Mal to see the hidden blade and flinch. "And as long as you never insult my son's memory ever again. Is clear? Is understood?"

Niska lowered the blade all the way back into his pocket while Malcolm nodded. "Understood. And I wasn't trying to insult your son. Like I said, Gregory was a good man. You should be proud of him."

Niska nodded and backed away from Malcolm slightly. "I am. But the Alliance must pay for what they did to my boy. You all have a reason to hate them Hwun Dan almost as much as I do, yes? So... to business. Down to...how do you say? Brass tacks."

Niska gestured towards Regan Tam. "When this woman and her husband first contacted me about trying to find her offspring and Serenity, I was...word is...conflicted. I had just put my new crew together after you and your friends...dismantled last one, and I wanted to kill you all."

Everyone in the room, besides Niska and his men, looked nervous before Adelai ended his dramatic pause. "However, Dr. Tam..." Both Simon and Gabriel looked at the crime boss, causing the latter party to chuckle. "Dr. Gabriel Tam had saved my life. My people...we have a, how do you say...tradition, going all the way back to Earth that was. A tradition that states that if one man saves another, one whose life is saved owes a debt to the other man. A debt which I could not get rid of if I killed you. But, when Regan Tam told me her ingenious plan to cripple the Alliance, I knew had to put my..." Niska rubbed his hands together for several seconds before he added. "Enmity for you and your crew aside for the sake of hurting our mutual enemy."

"Mother!" Simon Tam choose that moment to glare at Regan Tam. "What kind of gorram deal did you make with this dangerous man? I want answers and I want them now!"

River and Kaylee both simultaneously put one of their hands on both of Simon's elbows, causing the doctor to visibly calm down as the Tam matriarch finally began to speak. "Well, Simon, River..." Regan looked at both of her children imploringly. "First of all, your father and I both wanted to bring you home, and after our official contacts in the Alliance government turned up nothing, we knew we needed to turn to Mr. Niska for help to find you. However, we also wanted to make the Alliance answer for all the harm that they have done, not just to the 'Verse at large, but to you too. Especially you, River. Gabriel and I are so sorry that we didn't believe Simon about..." Regan sighed. "Anyway we knew we couldn't let what was done to you go..."

River nodded with her eyes downcast. "The men in white coats broke her. She is beyond fixing now, so you want revenge for the daughter you lost."

Regan shook her head with tears in her eyes. "I still don't know why you are talking about yourself like that, nyen ching-duh, but you will always be our daughter. Nothing the Alliance, or anyone could ever do will change that. But yes, for what they have done to you. What they have done to the 'Verse...the Alliance needs to pay for that. But the deaths of colonies, planets...these things are just statistics for most people. Enough to make people resent the Alliance a little bit. But not enough to get people to break out of their routines and do something about it. No, to galvanize people to change things, maybe even over through the Alliance, it needs to be personal. People need to see the harm our government causes to individuals, families, friends, and lovers."

Regan looked right at Inara and Malcolm then, and only then did the two individuals in question realize that Malcolm had adapted a protective stance between Niska and the former companion as soon as the crew had entered the room and that Inara had put her hand on Malcolm's arm several times to calm him down during his discussion with Niska. The captain and the elegant dark-haired women both blushed slightly and lowered their heads for several seconds as they simultaneously spoke. "We're not..." "He and I aren't."

But Regan Tam talked right over the captain and the former companion with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, while River silently smirked. "So I thought...Why not show them? Show the people of the 'Verse a month in the lives of nine individuals who have personally suffered because of the Alliance. Catch it all on film for everyone to see! Mr. Niska has been kind enough to let us stay in one of his summer villas for this purpose, and offered to provide several camera men and the best pirate broadcasting equipment that money can buy..."

"Kao! Mother, please tell me you aren't suggesting what I think you are suggesting..."

The eyes of all the other crew members, except River, who just frowned while looking straight ahead, turned towards the Tam matriarch. Finally, after a moment of silence, Mal asked the question most of his crew was thinking. "Excuse me, ma'am. But I'm a bit lost. What exactly are you suggesting?"

River rolled her eyes and sighed. "Mother wants to turn our lives into a reality show. Force us all to live in one place and catch it all on film. Use our words and experiences to put a bee in the bonnet of the purple bellies and their puppet masters..."

"Exactly!" Regan smiled and made a grand gesture with her right hand, as if she was imprinting words on the very air in front of her. "People love a good reality show! I figure me, my husband, and our children can be front in center. The typical, core-world,, nuclear family torn apart by the Alliance's greed and lust for power, while the rest of you interact with us as our guest, friends of the family, and get to share your experiences of how the Alliance has hurt you via interviews with will take place throughout the single season of the show. We'll call it 'Walking Alongside the Tams'!"

Kaylee's eyes lit up as she smiled and spoke. "You mean we'll get to be on TV? Shiny!"

Zoe shook her head. "No. A lot of us, myself included, lead very private lives, and we won't submit to them being examined by a spyglass for all the 'Verse to see."

Niska chuckled. "I'm sorry. I think you are...not understanding situation you are in, Mrs. Washburne..."

"It's Miss Washburne now. My husband died some time ago. And since then, I have little patience for games. Speak plain. Are you saying we don't have a choice?"

Niska pointed at Zoe and smiled. "I knew you were intelligent woman! My condolences for the loss of your husband, and also that Shepard who I had also...rumors, you understand? Heard he died as well. But you are correct, Miss Washburne. You all have no choice."

Niska's men all put their hands on their holsters, but they didn't draw steel just yet, as their boss spoke. "I think Mrs. Tam's idea is a good one, but if you will not help me get my revenge on the Alliance, and get a little vengeance on the crew of Serenity by forcing them to live in front of the public eye for an entire month, where I know many of you will be, how you say? Fishes out of water, then I will have no use for any of you, and I might as well just kill all of you right now, yes?"

Regan opened her mouth to protest Niska's words, but Gabriel put his hand on his wife's arm and whispered into her ear. "Just stay calm, and everything will be fine. Let the uncivilized outerworlders talk this out and don't say a word!"

Malcolm looked at the smallish room he, the Tams, and his crew were in. It was small, had no cover to speak of, and the only exit to the room was a locked door several feet behind the captain and everyone he wanted to protect from Niska's large number of men and guns.. The Captain sighed, then spoke in a loud volume through gritted teeth. "Shiny! We'll do this yu bun duh show for you! But we'll still be expecting to get that large payday that was promised us, Niska! You being so intent on being a man of your world and all."

Niska smiled. "Glad you decided to make a sensible decision, Captain Reynolds. I enjoy reality shows. Enjoy watching others suffer..."

Malcolm whispered under his breath while glaring at the mob boss. "Never would have guessed." River smirked at Malcolm's comment, which she had heard quite plainly...but not with her ears.

Niska continued speaking. "And I will enjoy watching you all publicly suffer by your own hands while helping me get my revenge on the Alliance, yes? Is like, how do you people say? Killing two birds with one stone! And do not worry, Captain. If the words of your crew make trouble for the Alliance, I will see to it that you will all become very...honored. No, this is wrong word, very rich. Now..." Niska picked up the video camera, which had been lying on the ground. "Promo for show is almost done. Mr. and Mrs. Tam have already filmed introductory speech saying what show is about. Can film other individual intros later, But audience must see whole cast together at beginning. Greeting people of 'Verse, introducing show as one, yes? So, when I press the record button..."All of Niska's men stepped behind their boss, out of sight of the camera. "You will all yell, in happy, enthusiastic voices, 'This is Keeping up with the Tams!', yes? And don't forget to smile!"

The Tams and the crew of Serenity all forced a smile, while Malcolm whispered under his breath. "Well, isn't this just shiny!"

A moment later, Adelai Niska hit the record button. Then the 'cast' of the show said their prompted words, having no inkling of how much their choice to accept Niska's "offer" would effect the 'Verse. For good and for ill.

 **AN: And so it begins. Will the crew of Serenity be able to survive the horrors of reality television? Will they get through the show's one and only season with their sanity (or in River's case, what's left of it) intact? Will they be able to stand living with the Tams long enough to finish filming the first episode? Tune in next time to find out the answers to these, and other questions, as we join the crew of Serenity in their attempts at "Walking Alongside the Tams!"**

 **Hello, readers! I would like to thank all of you for your continued interest in my story, especially bjq, who reviewed my last chapter! Thank you all for your support and input! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, but all manner of input on this chapter, via review or PM, would be greatly appreciated!**

 **Also, a huge thank you goes out to my beta reader, without whom this story would be in even worse shape than Serenity during the episode, "Out of Gas"! Thank you for all of your help!**

 **Until next time, I am...**

 **-supercode**


	4. Arrival

….The Villa, at an undisclosed location...

The film crew followed the crew of Serenity, as well as the Tam family, onto the set where the filming of "Keeping Up With the Tams" was scheduled to take place. As stars of the show entered the villa, the cameramen took several close up shots of their reactions to the Villa itself, as well as the numerous bodyguards that Niska had guarding the area for their "protection."

While most of the show's cast seemed suitably impressed with the Villa, as indicated by several appreciative nods and a quiet exclamation of "shiny' on Kaylee's part, the reactions of the Tams and Inara where more subdued. These individual's said nothing, and their stoic faces gave away nothing, as they examined the large, luxuriously adorned house and the surrounding area. In fact, a few of the camera crew members muttered under their breath that audiences might find the initial Villa entrance scene boring...until one of them got too close to Jayne during a close up, and that individual was promptly pushed to the floor by the mercenary

"That's too close, gorramit! Didn't your mamas ever teach you to respect a man's personal space?!"

After one of Niska's goons tapped on his holster threateningly, the large man walked away from the downed cameraman, allowing his buddies to help the man off the floor. But instead of getting scared or angry, the man in question grinned. "Please tell me you got that! The gruff, uncivilized mercenary pushing one of the innocent camera crew to the ground!" When one of the other camera guys nodded, the man who had been pushed grinned. "Great! Now that is some quality TV material! That push needs to make it on the air!"

The rest of the first day on set was pretty boring though, One of Niska's men, dressed up like an honest businessman who was there on behalf of a "mysterious benefactor" who just wanted to "help the cast share their traumatic experiences with the Alliance to the 'Verse", gathered all the cast members into the living room and explained the rules they would all have to live by while living in the Villa. Most of those rules involved not hurting themselves, each other, or the camera crew and bodyguards, and not trying to leave the villa during filming. The whole speech just made everyone really bored, and even Inara had to suppress a yawn during that event. Jayne had no such compunctions, however, and openly yawned right in front of a camera,. This event caused River to chuckle before she looked right at her "host" and rolled her eyes "We're smart enough that we could have figured those rules out ourselves, thanks.. But thank you for wasting our time."

Jayne nodded before he walked toward the host of the show. "What the craz...the girl said. Aren't we supposed to be telling some stories about the Alliance, or exploring the Villa, or some such?! I don't know much about television. Hell, I've never even owned one myself. But I don't think the people of the 'Verse want to see us all sitting around doing nothing, while somebody else talks about...well, nothing!"

The host, while a big man himself, could not help but notice that Jayne, who was now standing right in front of him, was a full head taller than himself, gulped. "Um...yes. You're absolutely right. Some of your bodyguards will escort all of you to your sleeping quarters, and then you will all have a chance to speak your peace about a few things over the next several days,"

Jayne glared at the man for his vague reply, but Malcolm raised his voice slightly to speak over any further objections Jayne might make. "Shiny. Let's all just get ready for bed, then.."

Gabriel Tam nodded.. "Yes, let's all get ready for bed. I'm sure there will be plenty of time for us all to explore or talk later.

All of the show's cast members agreed with this, and they were all starting to disperse when one of Niska's men started whispering in the host's ear. Whatever was said, it made the host scowl while his face turned red. "That stupid Hwun dan! He had several weeks to do that job, and he picked yesterday to..."

But then the host's lips turned up into a grin as he added. "Actually, never mind, this could make things much more entertaining. We'll see how this plays out before we decide if any heads need to roll." The man turned his gaze towards both Malcolm and Inara, who happened to be standing side by side, arguing about something under their breath. However, both the captain and the ex-Companion immediately turned towards Niska's top man for this operation when they saw the unsettling look he was giving them. The captain raised an eyebrow. "What?"

The hosts put on his best fake expression of regret."I'm afraid your room is not yet available, Captain Reynolds, nor is the room we had made available for Miss Frey. They had a little bit of a pest problem, you see. There was also a scheduling issue, so the the pest control man did not get around to taking care of the problem until yesterday afternoon. So it will not be safe for anyone to enter those rooms for a few days. Until then, Captain Reynolds we will need to make alternative accommodations for you and your mechanic..."

River smirked. "Kaylee should stay in Simon's room. He has been sneaking to her room every night as it is. And he keeps waking me up in the middle of the night when he does." The youngest Tam half-glared, half-smiled at her older brother in the way that only a bratty younger sister can pull off. "You're not as sneaky as you think you are, Simon."

Simon and Kaylee both blushed bright red as his parents gave the former strange looks. "Sorry about that, River. I didn't know I was waking you. But...are you sure that you are okay having your own room here at the Villa? I know you have nightmares, and that we have been sharing the same room for almost a year so that I could better take care of you..."

River shook her head and mockingly patted Simon's cheek. "Poor Simon, so smart, but still such a boob. You have always taken care of me, but I'm better now. As well as I am going to get, anyway. Now I want to take care of myself. Besides, no seventeen year old woman really wants to share a room with her brother."

Simon chuckled at the way River punctuated that last word with both annoyance and familial fondness. "No, I suppose not." The young doctor turned towards Kaylee. "What about you, Kaylee? Are you okay with the two of us sharing a..."

Kaylee beamed. "That would be shiny! I've been waiting for you to ask to move into my quarters since we had sex..."

Realizing that the elder Tams, who were now glaring at her, were still in the room, Kaylee's face turned red again as she tried to amend her words. "I mean, got together, a few days after we sent the wave from Mr. Universe's place! I'm...just going to go get some of my things then..."

The mechanic quickly walked out of the room to gather her belongings, and Simon shot an apologetic look to his wide-eyed parents and talked to them just as they were starting to open their mouths. "I will go to be with her then...I mean, to help her unpack. Obviously, I meant to help her pack because..." Simon sighed, realizing that he was just digging himself into a bigger hole by trying to explain. So the young doctor just nodded, then said, "Right." As if that explained everything, then he walked towards the room that one of the cast's bodyguards was showing Kaylee to.

After the elder Tams and River left the living rooms to find their domiciles, Malcolm shook his head. "One big happy family. I can already tell that our stay here will be all kinds of shiny."

Inara half-smiled, half-smirked at her captain's sarcastic analysis of the crew's new living situation, and Malcolm smiled right back. The captain and the ex-Companion only noticed that they had been starting at each other a bit too long when their host, who was now the only other person in the room, cleared his throat. "Unfortunately, this still leaves the matter of your living quarters in question, Mr. Reynolds..."

"Captain Reynolds." Malcolm and Inara said simultaneously. Mal and Inara looked at each other for a moment, then glared right at their host."

The host nodded his head. "Of course. In any case, Captain Reynolds, your room is still unsafe for human habitation at this time. However, it has been decided that you can share a room with Miss Serra."

"Buh kuh nuhn! That would be unacceptable! Even though I am no longer a registered companion, I still value my privacy, and if you think I am going to let a Chewn Joo order me about and force a man into my bedroom for some ratings stunt, you have another thing coming!"

Malcolm pointed to Inara. "What the lady said, I may not be much of a gentlemen..." Inara gave Malcolm a look, and the captain sighed. "Or at all a gentlemen. But I was taught never to climb into a woman's bed unless she invites me to. And clearly, I'm not invited. So I guess I'll be sleeping on one of these moderately comfy couches until my room is ready."

Inara smiled as she gave Malcolm a look that was somewhat apologetic. "Thank you, Mal. I'll be sure to get you a pillow and some blankets from my room so that you will have a better chance of sleeping through the night."

The host shook his head. "I'm afraid that won't work. The crew still need to install a few cameras in this room. And that will probably take the better part of tonight. So captain Reynolds will not be able to sleep here. Besides, didn't I mention that there was a fold-out bed in Miss Serra's room?"

Malcolm glared at his host. "No. You must have forgotten to mention that bit."

Inara smiled. "Well then, that settles it. I'll just ask Zoe to sleep on the foldout in my room, and the captain can have Zoe's room. Or maybe River can.."

The host sighed. "No, I'm afraid that won't work, either. Miss Tam and Miss Washburne have both requested that they wanted to have their own rooms. Miss Washburne stated that she wanted a private space to be alone with her grief over losing her husband. And Miss Tam?" The host shrugged. "Who knows? Half of the words she said while speaking to me and my crew earlier were incoherent. But she definitely wants to have her own room, that much I understood. But perhaps, Mr. Cobb..."

"No!" Inara's eyed widened for only a moment before she quickly regained her composure. "I mean...I would rather not have Jayne sleep in the same room as me, Mr. Cobb has many...fine qualities as a human being, but he is not the most refined person in the 'Verse. Although I'm sure that the man would never actually lay a hand on me, I'm afraid that he and I sharing a room might cause him to be tempted in...other ways."

Inara's pleasant smile was broken when Malcolm chuckled and added. "Which is a nice way of saying that Bei Bi Shiou Ren would take every opportunity to see Inara stark naked that he could. And seeing as both part of my crew, I forbid them to sleep in the same room together."

Inara crossed her arms in front of her. "Forbid it? I thought I made it clear to you, when I first got on Serenity, which, may I remind you, we aren't even on right now, that I was a long-term passenger, not a crew member Which means I don't have to follow your orders!"

The host made a subtle gesture towards the camera crew, who slowly inched closer to the bickering individuals in the room to get a close-up shot of the argument. Malcolm scowled. "Fine! Shiny! You don't want to be part of my crew? After this media circus is over, I can drop you off at the nearest fancy Core world of your choosing if that's the way you want it! And if you really want to share a room with that Bei Bi Shiou Ren, then go right ahead! I won't try to stop you! Hell..."

Malcolm grinned, but everyone in the room could tell that the gesture was forced, as the man whispered low enough that only Inara could here it. "You can sleep with Jayne, if you want, for all I care!"

Inara was on the edge of tears. Her conflicted feelings for the captain, as well her tired mind and body, which had been worn out by all the events which had occurred since the Operative had held her hostage at the Companion training house, made her trained facade crumble away, if only for a moment. "You know that isn't what I meant, Mal..."

Malcolm put his hands in the air in front of him. "No. It's fine. Who you choose to spend time with is none of my business. That's another thing you've made very clear since day one. So do whatever you want. You always do, anyway."

The captain turned and walked briskly out of the room, his boots thudding against the tiled floor as he did so, leaving behind a sobbing Inara. However, the camera crew's attempts to get a close-up off Inara's tear-stained face were met with failure, as the ex-Companion blushed at her very public display of emotion as she dried her tears from her face and calmly, but firmly told the crew to "Get away from me!" as she quickly ran away from the room in an elegant stride that most women would kill to possess. The dark-haired woman then quickly made her way to only bedroom that was still unoccupied, her own, and slammed the door behind her.

With the ex-Companion out of their sights, the host smiled malevolently as he listened to the voice coming out of his ear-piece, as he motioned the camera crew to follow him. "The head A/V guy just told me where the Captain is. Mr. Niska asked for us to the show the 'Verse what this crew is like when they are miserable. And there is nothing like a lover's quarrel to inspire misery!"

The captain, as it turned out, had already found the open bar in the parlor, pulled out out the cheapest bottle of whiskey that the Villa had to offer, and poured himself a glass while he sat on one of the bar stools. And there he sat, for the better part of five minutes, leaving the glass completely untouched...until the camera crew followed him into the room. The captain sighed.

Malcolm, who had seen the crew enter the room due the large mirror behind the bar area, didn't even turn around, preferring to glare at the camera-men's reflection as he spoke. "Go away. Can't a man enjoy a quiet drink in peace anymore?"

One of the cameramen ignored Malcolm's words. "Mr...I mean, Captain Reynolds. Would you care to comment on the lover's spat that you and Miss Serra seem to be engaged in? I'm sure that the 'Verse would be very interested to hear your side of the story concerning the ups and downs of the romance between a smuggler and a Companion!"

Mal sighed. "That's not..." The captain shook his head. "From what Simon said about how television works, you're just going to create whatever Yu Bun Duh story line for me and my crew that you want. Fine. But I want to be perfectly clear about this this. Inara is a free woman. Not tied to me, or no one else. So don't bother her about some nonsense story that says something else."

The cameramen began chatting among themselves, trying to decide whether they should press this line of questioning, or move on to something else. As they were doing so, Mal looked at the fancy crystal glass in his hand, filled with one of the cheapest brands of whiskey in the 'Verse. The captain then sighed, and dumped the whiskey out of the glass and into the sink, before washing said glass and putting it on the counter beside the sink as he mused aloud to himself in a whisper. "That was gorram stupid of me. Wasting a shiny glass like that on cheap booze. The fancy and the common. They just can't mix. No matter how much you dress it up, no matter how hard you try...cheap booze stays cheap booze. And a fancy glass like that deserves better."

The captain frowned, knowing that he was in a bad mental state when he starting waxing metaphorical. Before Miranda, River had even had a name for it, saying the captain had a bad case of the Nargles when he got like this. Whatever the gorram hell that meant.

So lost was the captain in his revelry, it took him a couple minutes to realize that the camera crew where now filming him again, and had been for some time. Mal shook his head. "You're still here? I told you that I had nothing more to say about Inara..."

"Captain..." Any hint of excitement or sadistic merriment caused by Mal's personal anguish had fled the face of the cameraman who was now speaking. Instead, there was now a deeply serious look on the face of one of Niska's new employees. "What can you tell us about your experiences with the Alliance government, the atrocities they committed, both during and after the border worlds' war for independence? The people of the 'Verse,often only hear the Alliance's side of the story. But we think they would be very interested to hear about the war from someone who fought for independence Everyone loves an underdog story, Captain Reynolds. Now it is time to tell yours."

Mal's face was expressionless when he replied. "No choice, then?

The cameraman shook his head, and the captain sighed before he turned around. Mal finally faced the camera crew directly, but he did not speak just yet, electing to take a large swig of the cheap whiskey right out of the bottle before he started speaking. "You want to know what I think of those purple bellies? Fine. Let's start with what they did to my home planet. A farming world called Shadow..."

* * *

….sometime later...

Inara Serra tossed and turned on the bed of her (temporary) new room for over an hour before she sighed, and shot out of the bed in one elegant, fluid motion. After putting on a red robe from her private collection, the woman started to brush her hair in front of the lone mirror that had been provided for the room. Sighing at the sight of her bed head, after turning on the light, Inara fought through the curls in her dark hair as best she could. But her brush strokes were erratic, punctuated by several contortions of angry expressions on Inara's face, as the woman in question started speaking to the mirror in front of her, as if her reflection could help her with the current source of her troubles. "Why do you keep doing this to yourself? Letting that Bu Kuh nuhn man get under your skin? You were trained as a Companion. You are better than this! And you know very well why you can't tell that man how you really..."

But the ex-Companion promptly ceased speaking when she saw the telltale glint of a camera lens in one of the corners of the room, where a wall met the ceiling. Inara sighed, then went on with her business as if the camera wasn't there. Inara pulled her uncooperative hair in a bun, then decided to do one of the only things that she knew would help her turn her mind off: watch television.

The ex-Companion flipped through over a hundred channels over the next five minutes, finding absolutely nothing good on. Inara sighed, remembering that this was why she didn't generally watch television, except on the rare occasion when she just needed to turn her brain of f completely, and she couldn't get in the right frame of mind for meditation. Still, Inara knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep for another hour or so, so she checked the TV guide using the heavily encrypted Cortex receiver that was on her bedside table. She found a channel which would be...educational, if not entertaining, to watch, then tuned the TV to that station. Within five minutes, Inara wished she had not done so.

Inara had thought watching a channel that proudly proclaimed that it only waved "All Reality Television! All the time!" would help her learn more about the type of show that she and her friends were now a part off. But all that the ex-Companion could surmise from what she had seen was that reality shows were about one thing, and one thing only, creating pointless drama about nothing in order to secure a captive audience and keep ratings high. Still, for a time, Inara persisted in watching the commercial-free (unless one counted the copious loads of product placement) show on the television , hoping to eek some useful information that might help her and the crew of Serenity avoid any more unnecessary drama while filming "Walking Alongside the Tams." After all that Inara was able to learn from watching several women bicker with their husbands, and each other, on a 17th season episode of "Real Housewives of Londinium" was that people had really low standards for entertaining television, even in the 26th century, the Companion turned off the TV and shook her head. "That's 30 minutes of my life I'll never get back."

Inara's thoughts were interrupted, however, by a knock on her bedroom door, as well as a familiar voice. " Hey Inara, can you open the door for just a minute? I'm not looking to disturb you no more after...well, just after. I just wanted to get a pillow and some blankets so I could sleep out here in the hallway..."

Inara sighed and opened the door. "Don't be foolish, Mal. The floor is no place for a person to sleep. You can sleep on the fold out. Just until your bedroom is ready."

Malcolm just nodded. "That would be shiny. I've had to sleep on the ground many a time when I was a soldier, but...beds, even fold out ones, are much better."

The captain pointed to a large blood red sheet that Inara had already hung up somehow, which was currently obstructing his view of a little over a quarter of the room. "I'm guessing that's your handiwork then, and that the fold out is on the other side of the curtain?'

Inara just nodded as she studied her profile in the mirror further, while she idly answered the captain's question. "Yes. This is my room, Mal, so I will expect you to stay on your side of the curtain unless you are exiting the room, or if I give you permission to enter my side of the room. One of the first things I learned as a Companion was the importance of setting boundaries, so I will expect you to respect mine."

Malcolm nodded, but his gaze seemed far away as he replied. "Boundaries. Sure. Shiny. Still, you aren't a Companion anymore, right? So why did you hang on to all of this stuff?" The captain pointed both to the curtain, and to the various make-up kits and pieces of jewelry on Inara's nightstand

Inara shrugged. "I don't know. It's just...familiar, I guess. Trappings of the only life I had ever known...until the Guild revoked my Companion status."

Malcolm sighed when he saw the sad look on Marinara's face, and the captain felt the need to say something. "Yeah...I...um. I'm sorry that they won't let you be a Companion no more, on account of what I did at Mr. Universe's place..."

Inara smirked. "Captain Reynolds, you are a terrible liar. You have made your disdain for my profession quite clear since we met. You hated that I was a Companion."

Malcolm shrugged. "Yeah...but I don't hate you. And I know that you loved your job."

Inara frowned. "Loved may be too strong a word. It was the only life I knew, that was all. And I was really good at it. But I knew that I was probably giving that life up when I chose to help you expose what happened on Miranda. You may be a stubborn Wong Ba Duhn at times, but you have never been strong willed enough to make me do anything. You didn't force me to go to Miranda with you. Or to help you get that wave out. I made those choices on my own. You aren't to blame for that."

Malcolm shrugged. "Perhaps you're right. But still...I'm sorry."

Inara just nodded, and she thought that would be the end of the conversation, until the captain turned around around, just as his hand touched the partition curtain, and said. 'You know something? I just realized this is the first time that I've seen you without...you know, all your Companion stuff. Without make-up, jewelry, fancy clothes, done up hair...you look, I don't know..."

Inara rolled her eyes. "Less glamorous? Human? I'm not a Companion any more Mal. I don't need to look like a model 24/7. I hope that isn't too terribly disappointing for you."

Malcolm winced when Inara spoke in a tone that clearly indicated she didn't give a gorram if he didn't like her new look. "Actually, I was going to say you look like a normal person. But not in...you know, a bad way."

The captain huffed. "Just...you look good like this. Not that you didn't look very fine before, of course, but I just."

Inara interrupted the captain's rambling with a smile. "Thank you, Mal. I appreciate that. Anyway, I was just about to turn in for the night. If you still need to wash up this evening, I'll keep a candle lit until you get back."

Malcolm smirked. "That's very thoughtful of you, but I'm a big boy, and I don't need a nightlight. Besides, I'm already ready for bed, so I think I'll just go ahead and hit the hay now."

Inara nodded. "Alright, then. Goodnight, Mal."

Malcolm walked behind the curtain, but his voice went beyond the red sheet. "Night, Inara."

Inara hastily prepared herself for bed, dressing down until she was only in her underwear, then turned the room light off before she swiftly got under the covers. The ex-Companion knew that Malcolm, as much of a brigand as he pretended to be, would never actively try to violate her privacy to get a glimpse of her naked. But the former working girl wanted to make every effort to make sure that the captain didn't accidentally get an eyeful. Because Inara honestly didn't know what would happen if the captain ever did see her naked. At best, such an event would lead to a verbal confrontation between her and the captain. But the alternative...

Inara shuddered as she tried and failed to push that thought aside. It would not due to dwell on that line of thinking. The ex-Companion told herself that it was too late for her to have second thoughts concerning the nature of her relationship between her and Mal. That even entertaining such an idea was selfish. And the Companion in her knew that. But the woman in her...

Inara sighed deeply, hoping the captain wouldn't hear. The woman in her fantasized about asking the captain to join her in her bed. She dreamt of a long night of lovemaking between her and Mal. Of whispered apologies for past hurts she and Mal had caused each other due to stuborness and pride. Of forgiveness quickly given, and promises made to spend the rest of their lives making it up to each other...

Inara let a single tear fall silently as she rebuked herself for such foolishness. She knew the rift between her and Malcolm was too big to be healed that easily, or quickly. The former Companion also knew that if there had ever been a chance for her and Mal to be an item, that chance was gone now. There wasn't enough time. Yet still, the temptation to call him to her was there, stronger than ever now that she and the stubborn, yet surprisingly noble, man where sharing the same room.

And that, Inara knew, was the real reason she had objected so fiercely to sharing a room with Malcolm. It wasn't that she didn't trust Malcolm to be alone with her. Rather, she didn't trust herself to be alone with the captain.

"Inara?"

The former companion huffed in feigned annoyance as she dried away her tears, after the subject of her musings spoke.. "I'm trying to sleep, Mal. Can whatever it is wait till morning?"

The captain's loud sigh could easily be heard on both sides of the sheet."No. I reckon it can't. I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I know that you don't want to sleep with Jayne, but I had no business ordering you about when you aren't even on my boat. And I didn't mean it when I said you weren't welcome on Serenity when this Yu Bun Duh show is done, you can stay on board as long as you want. If you decide you want to be part of my crew when this is all over, that is."

Inara smiled. "I would like that. I didn't mean it when I said I wasn't. I know I was being pointlessly argumentative, I just...I've never shared a room with a man, except for business. And all the while, all of this reality show nonsense is going on, and the camera crew seem to be doing their business to make us all look like fools. It's all a bit daunting."

Malcolm chuckled. "Yeah, this media stuff does feel like a circus, doesn't it? I knew there was a reason I never liked television. But maybe we could watch each others backs from now on? I do my best not to besmirch your reputation in any way, and you keep me from saying anything stupid?"

Malcolm smiled when he could almost feel Inara smirking on the other side of the curtain as she spoke. "If only that were remotely possible."

Malcolm huffed in feigned annoyance, but he was all smiles when he replied. "Fair enough. You could stop me from saying anything any stupider than usual then."

Inara chuckled. "I think I could manage that. It's a deal. But before the two of us face the 'Verse again tomorrow, I really do need to sleep. Goodnight, Mal."

The captain smiled. "Night, Inara."

Within minutes, Inara was able to drift off to sleep with a smile on her face. Now that her and the captain were on civil terms again, the ex-Companion was certain she and Mal would be able to handle anything that Niska's men threw at them, and the rest of the "cast members." After all, Inara though before sleep claimed here, there was no way tomorrow could be any worse than today.

 **AN: In addition to my previously cited source, some of the Chinese phrases in this chapter came from the Firefly and Serenity database of wikia.**

 **Thanks again for reading and hope you enjoyed the chapter! Special thanks go out to bjq and Hawki for reviewing my last chapter, and to my beta reader, without whom this story would uglier than a Reaver ship! Your help is greatly appreciated!**

 **So, I'm just going to leave this here. Any feedback concerning this chapter would be greatly appreciated. Until next time, I am...**

 **-supercode**


	5. The Worst Day Since Yesterday

The next day started out rather eventfully.

Everyone of the "cast members" was summoned to the dinning area at 9 AM for breakfast Most of them were already up by then, and made it to the estate's dining room by 9:15. However, four members of the cast, Kaylee, and Gabriel, Reagan, and Simon Tam, were late.

The two couples didn't manage to make it to the table until around 9:30. All four individuals had already washed up, and had their hair and make-up (in the women's cases) fixed up, but their clothes were noticeably disheveled, as if they had been put on in haste, and they all were all clearly tired.

Although everyone else had already eaten, they had all elected to stay at the table to talk among themselves. Malcolm had been having a conversation with Zoe about how she liked her quarters, and how she was doing in general, and Inara had been talking to River about how a woman her age should do her hair and make-up, dress and act (since she had been a girl of fourteen when the Alliance had turned her into a lab rat, and in the majority of the time since Simon had rescued her, her mind had been too crowded to pay attention to the current fashion trends of the 'Verse).

Jayne, on the other hand, had been in the middle of complaining about the crew's new accommodations since their "deal" with Niska had begun. "Look, I know the scenery isn't bad and all, and the food here is good, and the bed's are comfy and clean but it ain't right for a man to be forced to stay in one place all the time unless he's in space! And Gorramit, I don't like having no privacy neither! Having these guys following me around all the time..."

The mercenary gestured at all of the cameramen in the dining room, who had all their equipment pointed at the table and those eating off of it. "Is really starting to damage my calm!"

Inara smirked. "Yes, their presence can be quite annoying. But at least we know when they're around. A lot of rooms in this house, including, as I discovered last night, our bedrooms, have hidden cameras."

Zoe and River just nodded, confirming they had already discovered this for themselves, but Jayne and Malcolm both looked shocked and outraged, and where about to open to open their mouths, but the voiced of the four latecomers to the breakfast table beat them to it "What!"

Gabriel Tam, who had been serving out cold eggs, sausage, and waffles for Reagan, Simon and (reluctantly) Kaylee, stood up and walked directly towards the head cameraman, shoving the man's camera to the ground as he did so. "This is an outrage! I never agreed to having cameras placed in our rooms! How could you even think it was okay to spy on me or my family, or even my son's...whatever she is, during our most intimate moments?! I demand to speak to Niska right now!"

The cameraman quickly got up while Jayne snickered at Gabriel's outburst while softly whispering "I guess someone was rutting around last night!"

This, of course, earned Jayne a swift elbow to the ribs, and River softly mimicked banging her head on the table while she whispered, just loud enough that Jayne could hear her over her parents, Simon, and Kaylee's loud argument with the cameramen. "Happens every time my parents go on vacation. And Simon and Kaylee have been at it like rabbits every night since we left Mr. Universe's."

Jayne shivered slightly. "Girl, stop telling me this stuff! I can't know things like that about Kaylee! She's...she's..."

Seeing the perplexed, anxious look on Jayne's face, River added. "Like a little sister to you, I know. But you shouldn't throw rocks when you live in a glass house."

Jayne didn't exactly understand what River was talking about, but he knew enough to know that the gir...young woman couldn't like him talking about her older brother and parent's "nocturnal activities", any more than he liked Kaylee's being mentioned. So the mercenary just shrugged and said. "Fair enough."

By this point, the argument between most of the Tams, Kaylee, and the camera crew had ended, and an agreement had been reached between them. The lead cameraman sighed. "Okay, everyone, listen up! We're already wasting prime filming time so I'm only going to say this once! Mr. Niska has agreed that any footage of a...compromising nature that has been taken of any of you will be destroyed! "

Jayne raised his hand. "So...if, say, I had been alone in my bedroom last night and.."

The elder Tams, Zoe and all the other males in the cast had grimaces on their faces at that mental image, and the lead cameraman quickly cut Jayne off before he could finish that statement. "All footage that would reveal any of you in any state of undress will be deleted! Furthermore, technicians will come around each of your rooms tonight and show you how you can put the hidden cameras in your room into sleep mode for 30 minutes at a time. All that we ask is that you keep the cameras on except when you are changing clothes or engaging in any form of sexual activity, solo or otherwise. Oh, and I would like also like to reassure you that there are no cameras in any of the bathrooms of the villa.."

The elder Tams, Jayne, Kaylee and Simon all blushed as the cameraman continued speaking. "There is one other condition attached to this arrangement. Mr. Niska has observed some of the footage from yesterday, and he believes your reactions aren't authentic enough! Therefore, he has asked that all of you do your best to ignore all of the crew-members and bodyguards that are not part of the main cast, unless one of us directly speaks to you first. In exchange, you will get to have some privacy in your rooms, as I mentioned before.. Do we have a deal, or not?"

Malcolm Reynolds and Gabriel Tam both nodded, and since no one else shook there heads or made any objections, the lead cameraman smiled as he spoke. "Excellent! Now, we have a full day's itinerary ahead of us. Jayne Cobb, we would like you to stay here, in the dining room, after everyone finishes eating and the dishes are cleared away. Everyone else, feel free to explore the mansion, and the Villa, but please do not leave the grounds. We will be interviewing a lot of you today, after we finish speaking to Mr. Cobb."

Jayne sighed. "Is this because I hit one of you guys for violating my space? Because I told you I wouldn't do nothing like that again, but I'm not going to apologize for..."

The cameraman laughed. "Relax, Mr. Cobb. This isn't about that incident. We would just like to ask you to share with us a little bit about your experiences with the Alliance government."

Jayne shrugged. "Ain't much to tell. They keep trying to kill me, or arrest me, so I keep knocking them out or shooting them dead. That's pretty much it."

The lead cameraman shook his head. "I'm sure there is much more to your story than that, Mr. Cobb. But like I said, we'll discuss all of this with you after breakfast."

Jayne shrugged. "Fine. Waste of time if you ask me. Not that anyone ever does."

After the latecomers had finished eating, and the kitchen staff had cleared all of the dishes away, several things happened at once. Kaylee and Simon started holding hands, and made a move to exit the dining room to explore the villa, but they were intercepted by Gabriel and Reagan Tam, who asked to speak to their son in private. Meanwhile, while everyone else scattered to the four winds, with Malcolm and Inara heading in opposite directions, Jayne was left sitting alone at the dining table. "Fine. You want to ask questions, ask 'em. The sooner we are done with this pointlessness, the sooner I can find something to drink in this place."

One of the cameramen shook his head. "It's not even ten in the morning..."

Jayne shrugged. "You've never spent much time in the black, have ya? In space, there's no sun. No moons, neither. No night or day. There's just whatever schedule the Lao Bahn captain decides there is. Outside of that, whenever a man wants to drink, he drinks. And that's exactly what I'm gonna do as soon as I'm done answering your Yu Bun Duh questions!"

The head cameraman nodded. "Very well then, Mr. Cobb. Answer our questions, and I will insert you to the minibar myself. First question, then. What would you say is the worst thing the Alliance government has ever done?"

Jayne sat completely still for a long minute. Long enough that the cameraman was just about to open his mouth and repeat the question, before the mercenary finally spoke. "I know that most folk nowadays would say that what them purple-bellies did to Miranda, killing all those people, making the Reavers...that all of that was the worst thing that the Alliance ever did. But I saw the original recording of that scientist...or whatever she was, who figured out what happened there. The Alliance didn't mean to do none of those terrible things. They played God, and it bit them, and a lot of other folks in the Pi Gu, and the Alliance deserves to pay for that. But I don't think that's the worst thing they've done."

Jayne took a large gulp of the glass of water that he had been allowed to have with him for the interview before he continued speaking. "I know that the captain would probably say that what the Alliance did to Shadow, bombing a world of peaceful farmers into oblivion, was the worst thing the Alliance did. And he and Zoe would both probably say that the atrocities the Alliance government committed on Hera, during the battle of Serenity Valley, should be near the top of the list. I don't know, maybe I'd feel the same if I'd been there, but I never fought in no war. What I do know about war, due to what little schooling I've had, is that it's bloody, and mean, and that, in the end, armies will do whatever it takes to make sure their side wins, even if that means that lots of innocent folk die."

Jayne shrugged. "So maybe it's just me, but I don't feel right judging people for acts of war that I know nothing about. But there is one thing that I do hold against the purple-bellies though. Something I will hate them for until my last breath. There was this place the Alliance used to run. Maybe it's still out there, somewhere. I don't know much about it, actually, but Simon called it the Academy. You should ask him more about that place later, or River, if she's of a mind to speak about it. All I know is that the people there would trick parent's into giving up their children for some shiny special education program that didn't actually exist, then turn those children into lab rats. Then they'd cut into these children's brains, fill their minds with Xiong Mao Niao, and turn them crazy, in some mad scientist's attempt to turn these kids...some of them no older than my youngest sister, into war machines... And the Alliance did all of that, torturing children to turn them into weapons of war, during peace time. That don't sit right with me. It don't sit right with me at all..."

Jayne had a faraway look in his eyes now. "It's true that craz...River Tam and I haven't always been on the best of terms. She can be a real brat at the best of times, and at her worst, well..." Jayne placed his hand on his shirt, right over the spot where the fabric covered up the scar River had given him with a kitchen knife months ago. "Let's just say that girl can really leave a mark when she wants to. But...she didn't deserve what the Alliance did to her at that hellish place. And neither did those other kids the Alliance took."

Jayne looked right a the camera. "The Alliance needs to be stopped, and the Academy needs to be shut down, Dohn Luh Mah?

One of the members of the A/V team gave a thumbs up sign to the head cameraman, indicating that the interview with Jayne was producing excellent propaganda footage, The latter party then opened up his mouth to ask another question, when Jayne suddenly got up from his seat and started walking right past the camera crew "I'm going to have that drink now."

One of the cameramen stepped forward, as if to stop the large man, but the lead camera guy shook his head, and a path out of the room was cleared for the mercenary. The head cameraman shrugged. "Well, I wanted more footage from that interview but...considering that's the most we've heard Mr. Cobb speak since we got here, that was pretty good, and his words still gave Niska plenty of ammunition to use against the Alliance. Besides, we have a whole month to pick that gorilla's brain. It's a marathon, not a sprint. We'll get the merc to open up to the 'verse yet!"

* * *

...Meanwhile, in the main living room...

Simon sighed at the frowns his parents were giving him as he and Kaylee followed Gabriel and Reagan Tam into the living area for a private chat. "Okay. Gabriel. Reagan. What is it you want to speak to me and my girlfriend about?"

Kaylee's face seemed to light up from the inside as she broke into a million watt grin after Simon called her his girlfriend, but the elder Tams took no heed of this fact when they began speaking... Gabriel frowned. "Your mother and I actually wanted to speak to you alone, son. Miss Frey, would you be so kind as to give Reagan and I a minute to converse with our son alone?"

Kaylee forced a smile, but Simon was easily able to see the anxiety and uncertainty in her eyes as she nodded and began to walk out of the room. "Sure, I'll just go exploring this place. Maybe I can find the central cooling unit and make some adjustments. It was a little cold last night..."

Simon gently put his arm on Kaylee's shoulder, stopping the mechanic's forward momentum. The younger doctor then moved his arm so that it draped over both of her shoulders, and moved his body in such a way that Kaylee's was tucked protectively against the side of Simon's body. "Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of Kaylee. I may have agreed to participate in Niska's little circus, partly because I wanted to give you and mom and a chance to be a part of me and River's lives again, but make no mistake...I don't trust either of you right now. But I do trust Kaylee. She's earned that trust 100 times over. So if you want to say something to me, then say it. But I'm not going to let you intimidate Kaylee into leaving the room before you do."

Gabriel's frown deepened. "That is no way to speak to me or your mother, Simon!"

Simon glared right back at his father, while both of the females in the room visibly tensed up due to the conflict between the two men. "Don't try to pull that Go Shi on me. You and mom haven't been acting like parents since you ignored my warnings about River! And then you, Gabriel, even said that if I kept looking for my sister, you would wash your hands of me. So don't act like you can just..."

"Please stop this! Both of you!"Reagan put her hands on her husband's shoulders to try to calm him down, and Kaylee followed the elder woman's lead and did the same to Simon, causing both men to visibly calm down a little before Simon's mother resumed speaking, in Simon's direction this time. "You're right, Simon. Your father and I haven't been the best parents to you and River in recent years. But we are trying to fix that now. That's one of the reasons that I even came up with this whole reality show set up, so that the two of us could spend some time with you and River. Talk things out. Become a family again. Make things like they were."

Simon sighed. "I know that, mom. I just; ...after everything that's happened, I'm certain that, whatever happens in the aftermath of this show airing, neither the 'Verse, nor this family, will ever be the same again. But like I said, River and I have at least agreed to give you and dad a chance to be part of our lives again."

Reagan nodded. "Good. Now, let's try to move onto a more pleasant topic of conversation, shall we? Where, exactly, is River, right now, Simon? Your father and I wanted to discuss some possible good news with you and your sister."

Simon just shrugged, and turned to ask Kaylee if she knew where in the mansion his sister was. As this was happening, Gabriel whispered into his wife's ear. "But I thought we were going to talk to Simon about his relationship to that Meh Lien Duh Jyah Jee..."

Reagan, watching Simon's interactions with Kaylee, as the couple was frantically discussing where River could have gone, even as they looked at each others eyes with a tender affection that Reagan was able to identify all too easily, whispered back to her husband. "Not now, Gabriel! Give it a few days, until we know more about this 'Kaylee girl', you and Simon have both cooled off a little, and we've built up some rapport with our children again."

Gabriel nodded. "Yes, dear. Now, where in the Guam is our daughter anyway?"

* * *

...Also meanwhile, at the minibar...

Jayne looked behind the bar area for several seconds, pushing aside some of the cheaper bottles of booze, and turning his nose up at some liquor brands that where too fancy for his taste, before he finally settled on a slightly worn looking bottle he liked the look of. The mercenary pulled the bottle, as well as the shot glass, out from behind the bar with a smile and poured himself a shot, all while whistling the tune of "the Hero of Canton. However, just before Jayne could raise the glass to his lips, he saw, in very tiny letters, the words, "Bottled and Distilled on Ariel", printed on the bottle.

Jayne stopped humming, and his smile turned to a frown as he quickly downed the shot, then immediately poured himself another one. The mercenary raised his glass towards his reflection in the mirror and spoke in a mocking tone. "A toast...to the hero of Canton!"

Jayne quickly drank the second shot, and poured himself a third, as he sang, in a spiteful tone. "The man they call me."

Jayne was just about to down the third shot at well, when he heard a voice calling out from somewhere up above him. "He shouldn't drink this early in the day. Especially not alone."

Jayne snorted at the familiar voice, but he jumped in his seat a little when River opened the cover of the ceiling vent she had been crawling in, then jumped down and landed on her feet right behind Jayne. However, Serenity's "Public relations officer" quickly schooled his features to resemble stone, then growled. "I'll drink when I gorram want to, cr...I mean, gir!"

River chuckled. "He knows...I mean, you know, that I can read your mind. Why do you pretend you aren't startled?"

Jayne shrugged. "Force of habit, I guess."

River accepted this explanation with a nod. "He...You should still not be drinking now. She heard what you said to Niska's puppets, but we're not in the Black. We're on this world for a month and it would be best for him...for you to get used to the rhythm of this sphere."

Jayne sighed. "Maybe you're right, but I don't care. I wanted to drink, so here I am..." The mercenary's words were met with a frown by River, but when a stray thought entered Jayne's head and wouldn't let go, he put the glass down and turned towards a smirking River.

The young woman spoke. "It's a good question. You should ask."

Jayne sighed. "You know it creeps me out that you can reach inside my head like that, right?"

River's smirk widened as she simply nodded. Jayne shook his head. "And you also know that you're annoying me right now by not just answering the question before I have to ask it?"

River frowned, but just nodded again. Jayne cursed under his breath. "Than gorramit girl! Why don't you just answer the question?"

River's eyes went downward. "I know what they...what people are thinking, but it's not the same as ideas given sound and form."

When Jayne just looked at River like she had grown a second head, River added. "I know what you are thinking, but I still like to hear you say it."

Jayne shrugged. "Oh. Nobody's ever told me they like the way I talk before. Alright then. Where in the 'Verse are we? Niska's men put blindfolds on us for the entire trip here, but the way I figure it, you probably know where we are anyway, being a telepath, and smart and all. I figure the answer's got to be in that craz...I mean, that brain of yours."

River frowned. "Sh...I know where we are, yes. But I can't tell you. You are planning to steal a ship and escape with that knowledge. I cannot allow this. Your plan could cause jeopardy" Seeing another confused look on Jayne's face, River sighed and added. "The possibility of harm."

Jayne sneered. "Right. Can't allow Simon to be put in danger..."

River nodded. "Simon gave up everything for her, and it is true that I will not allow him to come to harm. But I was actually talking about you. I can't allow you to leave this safe haven and endanger yourself. It isn't safe to leave yet."

Jayne looked away from the youngest Tam. "I don't need your concern, girlie. And I'm not worth it, anyway. But you know...thanks, I guess. Even though you're still being a pain in the Pi Gu by not telling me what I want to know."

River shook her head "You are worth my concern as much as any member of Serenity's crew, save Simon."

Jayne just shrugged again, but he was thrown for a loop by what River said next. "She's still crazy, you know. Tenses and pronouns don't always come out right. My thoughts still get mixed up with the thoughts of of others. Past, present, future...all blend together. Some wounds have healed, but scars still remain. And my brain pan still isn't quite right, and it never will be."

Jayne shook his head. "Yeah. Cause you still got brain damage, from what them Hwen Dan did to you. I remember Simon saying something about that in that hospital on Ariel. Something about them stripping your amyg..something out of your head."

River nodded. "Amygdala. That's what they took...among other things. Now I feel and see everything. The albatross knows which way the wind will blow, but she is still wounded."

Jayne chuckled. "I'm not going to pretend to understand what you just said, crazy girl, but I think I have some idea of what they did to you. What the Alliance was trying to turn you into. And..."

The mercenary drank another shot. "I almost helped them finish what they started when we were on Ariel. I...almost helped them get your brother killed and turn you into some mindless drone. I know that weren't right. My mamma raised me better that that."

Jayne wouldn't look River, or her reflection, in the eye when the dark haired young woman sat on the stool on his left and started speaking. "No, it wasn't right for your to hand Simon and I to the Alliance like that."

Jayne's posture sunk slightly as his shoulders slumped just a little. The change was almost imperceptible, but for River, the man's posture of defeat, regret and shame was easy to read. River sighed. "But it was also wrong for me to slash you with that knife a few days before that. Or for me to hit you where I did at the Maidenhead. She...I am sorry for hurting you."

Jayne shrugged. "It weren't your fault. You were not right in the head...well, even less right in the head, when you did those things."

River nodded. "But I still hurt you, and the scar of one wound is still there. I am still sorry. Is she forgiven?"

Jayne looked up, took one look at River's sad, pleading eyes, and sighed. "Yeah. I guess you are."

River smiled and briefly patted Jayne on the shoulder. "Than she...I forgive Jayne too, just as Simon did a long time ago. You've saved our lives many times since then, just as we have saved you. Pointless to keep score, hold grudges... hold on to regrets."

Jayne took a long, hard look at River before he poured himself another shot. "You know something, little girl? You're not so bad to be around now that you aren't so messed up in the head."

Jayne saw a fire build up behind River's eyes just in time to jump out of the bar stool and evade the psychic's wrath as she stood up, kicked over her chair, then downed the shot of alcohol herself. "Da Bian Hua! See? She is not a little girl anymore! She can fight, She can drink, and she take care of herself! She doesn't need him treating her like a child!"

River then threw both the empty shot-glass, and the half-full bottle of liquor, at the mirror behind the bar, causing the floor behind the table to become covered in glass and alcohol The fiery young woman then turned to Jayne, who had his hands out in front of him in a placating gesture, and pointed a single finger directly at him. "No more drinking for you today!"

After River stormed off in a huff, Jayne just shrugged, looked at the mess River had made, then at the hallway River had retreated down and sighed. "So much for that pleasant moment of sanity."

The Tams (sans River, who nobody had seen since the incident at the bar), and the crew of Serenity spent a long day exploring the villa. Truth be told, though, after getting a brief look at a map of the small number of entertainment complexes in the villa, the group split up. Kaylee, Mal, and Zoe spent most of the day conducting routine maintenance on a locked-down Serenity in the Villa's garage, Inara spent her day meditating in the villa's lush garden center, having tea in her room, and catching up on some much needed sleep, while Simon and the elder Tams went to the Villa's infirmary and discussed possible new treatments for River's mental instability. Now that there were two doctors, instead of one, working on the problem, Simon and Gabriel had access to a much better equipped infirmary than Serenity offered, and River was actually able to stay on one planet for more than a few days at a time. Unfortunately, River herself had proved impossible to find, despite Jayne's brief search for the troubled teen/young woman after the incident at the bar, which the mercenary conducted for reasons that he himself couldn't quite figure out.

Jayne had been the only one to fully explore the Villa that day, after it became evident that River wouldn't be found until she wanted to be, mostly for lack of anything better to do. Jayne's usual shore leave activities, whoring and drinking, had been denied to him during this particular forced "vacation." The first of Jayne's usual activities had been made impossible for him due to the fact that, other than Reagan Tam and the female crew-members of Serenity, there where no women at all to be found in the Villa. No real women, anyway. Jayne had found a dirty lover bot in a dusty closet full of cleaning supplies, but the device in question didn't look near sanitary, and that type of robot had always given him the creeps anyway. After he exited the supply closet, leaving the creepy android completely untouched, Jayne had also avoided drinking anymore throughout the day.

This decision to temporarily abstain from alcohol was partly pragmatic in nature, as the merc's feet had been unsteady, causing him to sway slightly as he walked, for over an hour after drinking so much so fast, and Jayne had nursed a hangover for most of the day after that. However, Jayne also feared some kind of petty reprisal from River if he were to drink alcohol anywhere in the Villa for the rest of the day. Because Jayne knew that, sure as the turning of the worlds, River would know if he did so. Furthermore, part of Jayne felt that his insistence on drinking after the crazy girl had warned him not to had contributed to her outburst this morning, and Jayne felt...surely not guilt, he reasoned to himself, merely a desire not to add to River's mental instability, so the Doc wouldn't have even more reason to chew him out later.

In any case, Jayne had wandered from one automated game or diversion to another, growing bored of all but two of them quickly. However, Jayne did find the lone shooting gallery in the Villa amusing for a time, and the mercenary had relished in the opportunity to keep his marksmanship skills sharp during his time in the Villa. But as the mercenary soon discovered...

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! "This ain't no fun! The targets move too slow to simulate real fighting, and they don't shot back neither! Stupid game!" Jayne had then carefully set the air rifle back into its case, and stomped off while cursing that "Core worlders can't do nothing right!"

The second diversion that caught Jayne's attention that day, however, was a little more entertaining . The tracker found that one of the buildings in the villa was a private, fully automated movie theater, which had been constructed and painted in such a way that it resembled the theaters that had been prevalent on Earth-that-was during the early 21st century. After selecting, using the automated food processors to make two delicacies that could usually only be obtained on Core-worlds, and for an outrageous fee at that, called "soda pop" and "popcorn", Jayne used the movie selection terminal near the entrance to select a film, Shortly after Jayne sat down in the center most set of the theater and started enjoying his snack and beverage, the film, titled, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" started to play on the large screen in front of him.

Jayne repeatedly found himself laughing at the archaic technologies the characters in the film had access to, as well as their ancient dialect, but he enjoyed the film anyway. The movie's storytelling was interesting, the characters were dynamic and multi-dimensional, and Jayne found he could often identify with many of the characters. By and large, by the time Jayne exited the automated theater while trying to pick the last few corn kernels he had tried to eat, the mercenary could honestly say he had enjoyed watching the movie, and he thought he should recommend the flick to Malcolm and Zoe later.

However, as amusing as some of the diversions of the board-walk style villa had been, Jayne's thoughts were once again on worrying about where River had gone by the time he had arrived back at the mansion just in time for dinner, only to find that none of the other cast members had seen her since breakfast. Even after the Tams had convinced the kitchen staff to prepare real roast beef, which had been River's favorite food since she had been a little girl, as the main course for dinner, and Simon had tried yelling into every vent panel in the house that River should come down so she could eat some, the psychic had simply shouted for Simon, and everyone else, to "Leave me alone!"

Dinner that night, which consisted of fresh vegetables and warm bread as sides, and chilled fruit for dessert, was one of the best meals that Jayne had ever tasted, However, despite the quality of the food, there was a general tense, unhappy mood for most of the table's occupants. Zoe was silent during the whole meal, saying nothing as she slowly and methodically ate her food in silence as her sad eyes looked out into the middle distance. The woman was obviously thinking about her dead husband, but by now, everyone at the table knew not to bring up Wash in conversation around Zoe unless they had to. So no one commented on Zoe's silence or vacant stare, even after the dark skinned woman wordlessly left the table to wash her dishes after she was done eating.

Simon, for his part, kept looking at the only air vent in the dining room, as if staring at it hard enough would make River come down and join everyone else for dinner, and the young doctor looked more and more sullen every minute this state of affairs did not occur. Reagan Tam also looked at the air vent in question from time to time, but she was less obvious about it than her son, and the Tam matriarch still tried to keep up polite conversation with her husband, who for some reason, would shoot a mild glare in Kaylee's direction from time to time. The usually irrepressibly happy Kaylee was also somewhat out of spirits, since even her attempts to hold Simon's hand did not leave a dent in the man's unhappiness, or his worry for his sister.

Meanwhile, Malcolm and Inara quietly ate their meals on opposite sides of the table as they tried, and time and time again, failed, to not look at each other with longing expressions on their faces every few minutes. Jayne rolled his eyes at this display, and he seriously considered just telling Malcolm and Inara to just "Go to your room, get to rutting, and be done with it!" The only thing that stopped Jayne from doing so was the mercenary's sneaking suspicion that the captain might start a fight with him if he actually did so. And even though Jayne thought he could probably take the captain in a fair fight, or before Mal could start a fair fight, he was also aware that Zoe, wherever she was, would jump in on the captain's side of the fight...and that would be the end of Jayne Cobb. So instead of commenting on the captain's love life, or lack thereof, Jayne just left the table, bringing his dishes with him to clean them in the kitchen, as soon as he was done eating. "Well, that was fun. Why don't you all just let me know when the mood around here get less depressing? Until then, I'll be in my bunk...I mean, my bed. Whatever."

Everyone glared a little at the mercenary when he left the table, and they did so again when he returned to the table with a large glass of water and a set of plastic-ware "What? I just realized I'm still hungry, so I'm gonna just take some of this food up to my room, And since the crazy girl decided not to grace us with her presence this evening, I figured I would just use her plate." The tracker picked up the immaculate dinner plate that had been set in front of the seat that had been reserved for River Tam, then pilled it high with a little bit of every kind of food at the table, including an extra-large serving of roast beef, and then exited the room, ignoring Reagan Tam's stage whisper that, "In civilized cultures, we eat at the table!"

Simon Tam had sighed when he noticed that Jayne had cleared the last of the roast beef from the table, and the young doctor sighed as he stood up, said, "I'll be back in a minute everyone!" The young doctor then preceded to follow Jayne down the hall as he began to speak. "You can't take the last of the roast beef, Jayne! We need to save some for River to eat la..."

But Simon's words were cut of as he saw Jayne, quite a distance away, leave both the large plate of food and the tall glass of ice water by an air vent next to the floor in the living room. The young doctor was puzzled by this action, until, several seconds later, after Jayne had already left the room, a pair of skinny arms opened the vent from the inside, quickly pulled the plate, plastic ware, and glass of water into the dark vent with her, then shut the the vent covering again. The whole process took about three seconds.

Simon had just shaken his head then, not sure what to think about Jayne's uncharacteristically altruistic action. The young doctor continued shaking his head as he walked back to the dining room as he thought out loud. "Where did that come from and why didn't I think of doing that?

Shortly afterward, everybody, except for River, who still couldn't be found, despite the fact that she had briefly snuck in the kitchen a few minutes ago and left her empty water glass and mostly empty plate (the remnants of her mashed potatoes had been molded into the shape of a smiley face) in the sink, was gathered into the living room, the host explained why they were there. "Okay, everyone. So let me ask you a question. What's the biggest flaw in most reality shows."

Nobody felt like answering the man's question right now, so the host's smiling face fell a little. "Nobody? Okay, I'll just tell you. In most shows, the cast is not able to see how they look to the 'Verse until the first season has already been filmed and starts to air on TV. But since "Keeping Up With the Tams' is a program not authorized by the Alliance, we do things a little differently around here. Our show has shorter episodes, only taking place over a day or two, but we are going to air them more frequently, one episode at a time, so that it will be harder for the Alliance to find us, and we can get the word out about the many evils of the Alliance. The very first episode of "Keeping up with the Tams" airs in just five minutes...and you are all going to be watching it!"

A collective groan came out of every member of the cast, besides Reagan Tam, who seemed excited, and one groan could even be heard from the nearest ceiling air vent, but the host's enthusiasm remained undiminished "Oh, come on! I'm sure the people of the 'Verse want to know how you all feel about being in the limelight. That's why we are going to be filming all of your reactions to the debut of the show!"

Malcolm nodded. "So that's why the camera crew is around us right now. Let me get this straight. Your plan is to film the lot of us, watching our reactions to being filmed?"

The host nodded. "It's a little more complicated than that, but yeah, you've got the gist of it."

Jayne face-palmed himself. "You're going to be watching us watch ourselves? That's just Yu Bun Duh.

Zoe nodded and glared at the host. "Agreed. You are wasting our time"

The host chuckled nervously. "Well, that's what our benefactor said was on the agenda for tonight, so unless you want to be in big trouble with the boss, that's what you'll be doing. Now Joo Koh and watch the show!"

The cast members that were in the room all did what they were told, but Jayne, Malcolm and Zoe all crossed their arms in defiance as they did so. Truth be told, everyone but Reagan, who oohed and awed about the cinematography and editing every now and again, didn't find the opening of the show impressive, to say the least... The pilot started with a minute solid of narration by the host, explaining that the show was about "An innocent Core-World family, broken by the machinations of the corrupt Alliance government, trying to live together and become a family again..." Several photos of the Tam Estate on Osiris, as well as an older picture of a still intact Tam family, when both Simon and River where still children, where shown on the TV screen for several seconds.

The TV broadcast a different set of images, of most the crew entering the villas and looking around in awe, Kaylee calling the mansion "shiny" and Jayne pushing a cameraman to the floor, as the narration continued. "...as they interact with the crew of misfits and delinquents that reluctantly gave the two younger Tams, River and Simon, sanctuary before these two brave siblings risked everything to broadcast the first wave revealing the evils the Alliance perpetuated on Miranda."

Another set of images, showing the Alliance scientist who discovered what had happened to Miranda, in the few moments before the Reavers closed in on her, and more words of narration were spoken during the rest of the show's introduction, but only the elder Tams paid attention to any of this, as all of Serenity's crew-members were too busy glaring at the host to pay any attention to the show for several minutes.

Zoe jumped right off her seat and got right in the host's face. "Hwen Dan! You didn't mention what the rest of Serenity's crew did for this 'Verse?! You didn't even bring up the fact that Shepard Book or hell, even my husband, Hoban Washburne, died helping River get that signal out?!"

Kaylee pouted and crossed her arms. "Ta Ma Duh! Zoe's right. Everyone on Serenity helped get that wave out, not just Simon and River. And he didn't even mention the sacrifices that some of us made to get the word about what the Alliance did, out to the the Rim and Border Space! That's just not right!"

Malcolm stood up walked besides Zoe, and though he put a calming hand on his first mate's shoulder, to keep her from throwing a punch, he too glared at Niska's stooge. "No, it's not right. And this man has a lot to answer for. What the Guam were you thinking? Telling the whole 'Verse that Simon and River did the whole thing by themselves!? The whole crew pulled their weight in that endeavor, and I'm not going to just stand here and let you belittle me, or the members of my crew, including those who have fallen in the line of duty, by saying that a couple of Core worlders who didn't know the first thing about how the 'Verse really worked when me and mine took them in, did it all by themselves!" Malcolm turned towards Simon Tam. "No offense meant to you or your sister, doc. You've both earned your stripes since then, and you definitely pulled your own weight at Mr. Universe's place, but it was a team effort, and the 'Verse needs to know that."

Simon nodded. "No offense taken, Captain. I'm just as pissed off as you are."

River's voice echoed from the air duct. "Me too!"

The host sweated a little. "Hey, I don't write this material, I just read it! If you have a problem with the introduction, take it up with our benefactor."

Malcolm didn't blink. "I'm taking it up with you. You tell Mr. Niska that if that introduction doesn't get changed to more accurately reflect what happened, before the next episode, there will be trouble, Dohn-luh-mah?

The host nodded. "I will talk to our benefactor and see what I can do. In the meantime, if you and your first mate would kindly get out of my face, sit down, and watch the show, it would be greatly appreciated."

All of the "bodyguards" that were standing around the film crew touched the holster of their guns in order to emphasize the host's point, so Malcolm and Zoe reluctantly sat back down and looked back at the TV screen.

After that, nobody spoke during most of the episode's remaining run time, even when the cameraman who Jayne had pushed was shown on screen, criticizing the mercenary. "I know that Mr. Cobb comes from an uncivilized world, outside of the Core, but he still should know better than to act like a complete savage and knock people over for no reason!" Jayne hadn't said a word about the man's critique of his behavior but the tracker glared at the cameraman in question, who happened to be in the living room at the time, for a solid ten minutes, and if the mercenary blinked during that time, that scared man didn't see him do so.

The episode presented certain events slightly out of order, so the next thing that was shown was the Captain's speech about the evils the Alliance had perpetuated at the Academy, Miranda, and during the Unification War, including the war crimes committed against POW's after the battle of Serenity Valley, and the complete destruction of Malcolm's home-world, called Shadow, by orbital bombardment. According to the captain, this last atrocity had caused the immediate deaths of thousands, including Mal's own family, and the slow, gradual deaths of millions more, Many individuals, both soldier and civilian, who had depended on the sustenance provided by the crops that had come from the small farm world, starved to death before the Independents had been able to punch a big enough hole in a blockade of Alliance warships to get a new trade route set up between another farming world and Rim space.

Although Malcolm's words, especially those concerning Serenity Valley and Shadow, were quite poignant, the crew of Serenity had collectively pieced together a rough idea about what Malcolm's worst experiences with the Alliance had been like, so the information being presented onscreen via the Captain's recorded words was not new to them. Even so, the crew of Serenity respected the gravitas of the subject matter the captain had spoken about. So they respectfully said nothing as he talked.

Reagan Tam did attempt to speak at one point, while the captain on the TV screen told the 'Verse about the destruction of his home-world, the woman tried to speak to the Malcolm Reynolds that was actually present in the living room. "You poor man! I had no idea..."

But Malcolm quickly shut her up as politely as he could manage to do so at the time. "No offense ma'am, but I really don't like talking about it."

Nothing more was said for several minutes, but the show's climax, which started with the argument between Mal and Inara last night, got everyone's attention. After watching the recording of the argument between the captain and ex-Companion (which even drew River's attention, as the psychic opened the ventilation shaft enough to stick her head out of the ceiling and watch for herself), almost every member of Serenity's crew reacted to last night's incident in the living room. Zoe rolled her eyes at Mal and Inara's latest row, Jayne smirked as Inara gave the captain a tongue lashing, but frowned slightly when Inara cried after the verbal altercation between her and the captain. Simon just frowned the entire time, as he privately thought that both Malcolm and Inara had been foolish to say some of the things they had said the previous night, but Kaylee, who punched Malcolm in the shoulder (not hard enough to leave a bruise, but hard enough to hurt) was not so impartial "Nice going, making Inara cry like that, Buhn Dahn!' River for her part, just looked pensive, while the elder Tams pretended nothing important was happening, as they did not feel they knew either Malcolm, or Inara, well enough to know who had been in the wrong.

Malcolm and Inara, on the other hand, both looked at the ground and tried the best they could to become one with the furniture and dissapear while their argument was being broadcast, but as soon as everyone else had reacted to the bit about Inara crying, the captain glared at Kaylee slightly, while saying, "Don't hit me again." then turned to the former Companion. "I didn't mean to make you cry like that, Inara, I'm..."

Inara shook her head, refusing to meet Malcolm's eyes. "Don't, Mal. Just don't." The ex-Companion spoke loud enough that everyone else in the room could hear "The captain and I already talked things out, and everything is fine now. I'm staying on Serenity." This admission caused several members of the crew to sigh in relief, and Kaylee to break out into a wide grin that made Simon smile as well. However, before anyone had a chance to say anything else, the crew was, once again, captivated by another moment the film crew had captured., which the host's voice over explained had happened right after Malcolm's argument with Inara

After, the clip, which featured Malcolm at the minibar, talking to himself, played, Malcolm swore and glared at the host. Hwen Dan! That moment was supposed to be private! How did you even pick up those words and make them sound that clear?! I was half a room away from the camera crew, and I was whispering!"

The host shrugged and smiled. "Sound amplification technology has a history that goes all the way back to Earth that was, Captain Reynolds. But thanks to our generous benefactor, we have access to some of the most state of the art sound amp equipment there is! We can monitor, record, and hear anything any of you says, outside of the small windows of privacy we agreed upon this morning. It's called the future, captain, so you'd better get used to it!"

Malcolm's glare only intensified, but everyone else was too busy turning towards Malcolm with wide eyes, as they were all able to ascertain what Malcolm had really been talking about when he had whispered to himself about cheap whiskey in fancy glasses. Well, everyone except Jayne, who frowned and said. "What's everybody staring at the captain, for? And what's this gorram nonsense about booze and cups about anyway?"

River, whose head was still hanging upside down, sighed and whispered "Boob."

Inara, on the other hand, had a different reaction than everyone else as she frowned. "Mal? Is that really why you think you and I keeping fighting? Because I look down on you?"

Malcolm refused to meet Inara's eyes. "That's not it. I don't want to talk about this right now."

But the ex-Companion wouldn't be swayed. "I think this is the perfect time for us to talk, Mal, while everything's out in the open! If you don't think that I look down on you because of some classist Go shi, then explain to me what you were talking about! Because it sure sounds like, just because I was born in the Core, or raised at the Companion training house on Sihnon, you think, that I thought, I was too good to spend time around you, or the crew or Serenity! What else could you have possibly meant?!"

Malcolm stood up from his seat and, ignoring everyone's else's gazes, looked right at Inara "I meant that I'm not good enough for you. Not because of some accident of birth, or where you were raised, because that Go shi doesn't really matter. You're a better person than I am, Inara You don't have blood on your hands, like I do, and no, Reavers don't count, cause they ain't human anymore. And deep down you know that I'm right. That's why you push me away when ever I try to get close to you, even after you lost Companion status. That's why we argue whenever we spend five minutes together in the same room. And that's why, after I failed to save your friend, Nandi, you decided to leave Serenity. It's also the reason why, sooner or later, you're going to leave all over again."

Inara shook her head. "Mal, that's not why..."

But the captain didn't wait around long enough to hear Inara speak as he walked towards one of the exits to the room, glaring challengingly at the gunman guarding the door. "I need some air. Now, are you going to move, or am I going to have to move you?"

After the bodyguard looked silently at the host, who nodded, the gunman stepped aside and let the captain pass. Inara, for her part was able to avoid any emotional outbursts as the last five minutes of the broadcast, which was mostly just boring drivel about the other members of the cast settling into their rooms at the mansion (aside from the more interesting bit where Simon told his parents he would be sharing a room with Kaylee) that everyone in the living room was too preoccupied with the moment that had just transpired between Malcolm and Inara to notice. During those last five minutes, however, Kaylee re-positioned herself so that she and Inara were almost, but not quite, side-hugging, and Inara allowed the mechanic to do so. When the broadcast ended, Inara leaped of the couch to run and find Malcolm.

The ex-companion hesitated, however, when she realized she had no idea what she was going to say. At least, not until River, whose head was still hanging upside down from the vent, said, "You need to tell him your secret. The captain will find out, sooner or later, and it would be better if you told him first."

Inara looked slightly startled by River's words, even as the psychic in question closed the vent and scurried away to parts unknown after speaking them. However, Inara quickly decided there was wisdom to what the teenage girl had said, and the woman ran out of the room. Inara's footsteps were filled with purpose as she looked everywhere she could think of to find Malcolm. But the man wasn't in the room he shared with her, or in the shuttle bay, or even in the exercise yard. In other words, he wasn't in any of the places that the ex-companion had thought the captain would choose to spend time alone. However, after searching the mansion and its grounds for half an hour, passing (and ignoring) an angry Simon and Gabriel Tam, who were arguing about something (Kaylee's name was mentioned, but Inara didn't stick around long enough to hear the details of argument between father and son) she finally found Malcolm, sitting on a bench in a dimly lit area of the Villa's gardens.

Inara forced a smile as she approached the captain. Malcolm's muscles visibly tensed as he saw Inara approach him, but he made no move to leave the bench as she sat on the other side of it, a foot away from the captain, and spoke. "I never took you for a gardening fan, Mal. It's actually hard for me to imagine you with a green thumb."

Malcolm's lips turned up slightly, but the man didn't quite smile as he replied. "That's because I don't have one. Never had a talent for growing things myself, but my mom, back on Shadow, sure did. Her garden wasn't as big, or shiny, as this one, but she she put a lot of time and effort into making sure every plant in that garden grew."

Inara nodded. "Gardens reminds you of home. Better days."

Malcolm nodded. "Better. And simpler. Why are you here, Inara? There's nothing left for us to talk about. I've already spoken my peace."

Inara shook her head. "But I haven't spoken mine. You didn't give me the chance to before you ran off."

Malcolm sighed. "I guess that's so. Sorry. I'm not really good at talking about...feelings."

Inara shook her head. "Neither am I. At the training house, control was the first lesson, and the last. I was taught that my emotions were distractions to be overcome, and never spoken out loud, much less acted upon. I've spent my whole life wearing one mask after another for my clients, and now that part of my life is over, and I'm sitting next to one of the few men I've ever met that's only ever wanted me to be myself. And I have no idea what to say."

Mal nodded. "Let me make it easy for you then. " Mal looked Inara in the eyes. "I'm not a poet, Inara, or one of the countless lords that I'm sure have tried to romance you in the past with shiny words that I don't know the meanings of. And like I said, I usually keep my feelings close to the vest. So when I simply tell you that I care for you,...well, that means something."

Inara's eyes widened slightly, but the woman did not speak, so Malcolm prompted. "I'll ask you this question once, then I'll never bother you with it again. And neither answer will impact your status as a member of my crew. Do you care for me too?"

Inara turned her eyes away from the captain. "You shouldn't have asked me that, Mal. Not now."

Mal frowned. "Why the gorram hell not? We've been tiptoeing around this elephant in the room for too long, already!"

Inara nodded. "Yes. It has been too long." The ex-companion turned towards Mal, who was startled by the tears that were falling from Inara's eyes as she resumed speaking. "Yes, I do care for you, Mal. I would have thought that would have been obvious by now. But it doesn't matter now. There can't be anything between us. You're too late We both are."

Inara tried to leave, but Malcolm gently grabbed her arm to stop her, and the former companion let him. Mal shook his head as he took Inara's face in his hands. "No, I don't accept that. How can it be too late for us when we are both here, alive and whole? When we've both finally told each other how we feel? I don't care what that fancy school of yours taught you, this, two people caring for each other, that's a good thing! That's one of the few ways that most folks can find happiness in this crazy 'Verse!"

Inara shook her head and reluctantly pulled away from Mal's touch. "I'm not most people. And I can't have that happiness with you. It would be selfish of me to even try."

Malcolm shook his head. "Selfish? Now you aren't even making sense, woman. Look, whatever problems you think think might be caused by us being together, I know we can overcome them."

Inara shook his head. "Not this time. This is a problem that not even the great Malcolm Reynolds can overcome." Before the captain could open his mouth to protest further, Inara quickly blurted out. "I'm dying, Mal!"

Malcolm's posture stiffened, his face turned whiter than Inara had ever seen it, and the fiery determination in the man's eyes died a little, as if the captain had just aged ten years in the span of an eye blink "What?!"

Inara cried harder. "I have a disease, Mal. A very rare one caused by a terraforming event I got caught up in over a year ago. It's not contagious, and I'm still asymptomatic, but the doctor I saw on Ariel says that the antibiotic resistant bacteria in my heart and lungs could start attacking my cells any day now. I have six months, maybe a year, left to live, before Frank Roddenberry disease causes me to suffocate to death. That's why it wouldn't be fair to you for us to start anything between us now. I'm dying, Malcolm Reynolds, and there's nothing in this 'Verse that anyone can do about it!"

Inara's crying became bawling then, and the former Companion's make-up ran down her face. Not being a man of words, Malcolm Reynolds had none to comfort her with, so the captain did the only thing he could do. He held Inara as tightly as he could, and let the woman he loved cry onto his shoulder.

 **AN: So here we are, another chapter into the story I'm sorry this chapter took so long to get out there, but I've been rewriting part of this chapter, over and over, and I still don't feel like it's up to my usual standards of writing. Still, I hope you all enjoyed reading it, despite the downer ending of the chapter. Bur rest assured, this story, and Inara's, are not over yet. Anyway, please leave me some feedback in a review! Reader input is greatly appreciated!**

 **I would like to say thank you to all my readers, especially, Cowgirlcadet1701,bjq, and for reviewing my last chapter! And a special thanks goes out to my beta-reader. I couldn't do this without you! Until next time, I am...**

 **supercode**


	6. A Better Day

Inara awoke in her bed the next morning disoriented, confused, and alone. It took a minute for Inara's tired mind to realize why this last fact bothered her. But after Inara fully awoke, the events of last night came back to her.

After Inara had told Malcolm she was dying, the captain had simply held her for several minutes, until the former companion's tears were completely spent. Only then had Mal worked up the nerve to say something as he had helped Inara dry the tears of her face. "Hey, it's been, well...quite a day for both of us, I think and um...Maybe we should just go ahead and turn in for the night."

Inara had been disappointed that the captain had not had more words of comfort to offer her, But she wasn't angry at Mal for not knowing what to say at the moment. In truth, after giving Malcolm the news about her impending death, Inara hadn't really had anything else to say either.

So it was that Malcolm had silently had led Inara back to the mansion, which had been dark and silent, as everyone else had seemed to have turned in already. Inara had made no protest as the captain had silently led her to the bedroom they (temporarily?) shared, but the ex-companion and the captain stopped at the door. Mal looked nervous as he turned to Inara and said, "Well, here we are."

Inara had chuckled then "Yes, here we are. Outside our bedroom."

Malcolm had raised his right eyebrow, and Inara had halfway expected him to make a joke about her calling the bedroom "their room" instead of "her room", but instead the man just held the door open for Inara, who stepped right into the room, before Mal followed close behind. Malcolm sighed. "I think I'm just going to go to bed then. Good night."

Inara had frowned. This was definitely not how she thought the captain would react to hearing that she was going to die. Sure, the captain could be stoic at times, but this was the first time he had ever acted this cold towards her. "Sure. Good night."

Malcolm had opened the partition between his side of the room and Inara's, and Inara was about to turn off the room light, when the captain spoke again, with his back to the companion. "Inara?"

Inara had flinched at the way that Mal's voice sounded then. Mal's words were softer, quieter, and in some way that Inara couldn't quite define, smaller than usual. In that moment, the captain's voice, and defeated posture, made him seem more like a frightened child than a fearless captain who's actions had changed the 'Verse. Inara's heart had hurt a little for the man in front of her as she replied. "Yes, Mal?"

Malcolm had still refused to face her as he spoke. "I don't want you to die."

Inara had shook her head. "I don't want to die either, Mal. But it is going to happen, someday soon. And I thought you deserved to know."

Malcolm had nodded at Inara's words, before he replied. "I appreciate that. I do...I just. I can accept this go shi! I can't just...let you go."

Inara had nodded, even though she knew that Malcolm couldn't actually see her at that moment, as she spoke. "I'm sorry, Mal. Someday, you will have to. But not tonight. For tonight, I'm still here."

Malcolm had turned toward Inara then, so the ex-companion could see the tears in the captain's eyes (which he quickly wiped away) as he forced a smile and said. "Yeah, I guess you are. I...um. I don't know what to say to make you feel better right now, Inara, but...I'm here for you. If you ever need anything at all. Just ask..."

Inara had nodded her head then. "I will. Thank you."

Malcolm had just nodded back. Soon afterwards, the captain and the companion were lying down on their beds, on opposite sides of the partition. But neither one of them had been able to sleep wink, even after a half hour had passed.

Finally, Inara had been unable to bear the silence any longer, and the ex-companion, knowing that Malcolm was still awake from the sound of the man's breathing (and the lack of snoring from the other side of the curtain) spoke. "Mal?"

"Yeah."

Inara had sighed then. "Didn't it ever occur to you that I wanted you to make the first move?"

Malcolm had sat up in bed then, judging by the sounds of his bed moving. "What are you talking about, Inara? You know I'm not one for riddles and such."

"I mean...I guess I can admit it now...When Saffron came aboard, before I knew what she was, I was jealous of her..and then afterwards, when I found out that you had kissed her., I was jealous of that too. Almost as jealous as I was of Nandi, later."

"Oh...that explains a lot. About why you left after Nandi died, I mean. I thought...I believed you were just angry I had failed to save your friend. I mean, you just seemed so gorram aloof around me before."

Inara had sighed then. "That was my companion training, Mal. I was always taught to keep people who weren't clients at arm's length. To be alluring to everyone without showing any particular interest in anyone..."

Mal had chuckled at that. "Did that fancy training house of yours also teach you to kiss a man when he was unconscious? Because that was a new experience on my end..."

Inara had blushed then. "How did you know about that?!"

Inara had sworn she heard a smirk in Malcolm's voice when he replied. "I didn't. Until just now. But I thought that something on my lips tasted different than whatever that wei shian dohn woo hit me with. And, well...it made me wonder."

Inara grinned. "Very clever, Mal. But not clever enough to take a hint. If you thought I might have kissed you...why didn't you ever tell me you cared for me?"

Inara had hear a loud sigh come from the other end of the curtain then. "Because I wasn't sure. And because you had specifically told me you would not be fraternizing with me, or any member of my crew. Oh, and you made some very specific threats about what would happen if anyone on-board Serenity tried to lay a hand on you..."

Inara had rolled her eyes then. "Okay, I get your point. Still, it would have been easier for me, back then, if you had told me how you felt. Who knows? Maybe I would have left the Companions guild then while there was more time left for us..."

"Yeah, maybe. I guess it's too late now..."

Inara had sighed dramatically then, frustrated by the captain's persistent inability to take a hint. "You know...I'm sure that foldout isn't too comfortable to sleep on..." Inara peeled back the curtain between herself and the captain. "You can sleep next to me, if you want."

The captain had given Inara a look then, before he got of the foldout and climbed under the covers on Inara's side of the bed. Mal had grinned at Inara then, although Inara had easily been able to see the sadness and pain in the man's eyes before he said. "Ah hell, Inara. All you ever had to do was ask."

The former companion then momentarily shut off the camera in the room that she and Malcolm shared together, and that was all the permission Malcolm had needed to bring Inara into a heated kiss that had kicked off over an hour of lovemaking between the captain and Inara (during which they had needed to turn off the camera a couple more times). Malcolm and Inara's kisses had been a little bit sloppy, fueled by Inara's desperation to feel close to Mal at that moment. Malcolm and Inara's multiple lovemaking sessions had been quick, as the captain and the former companion tried as hard as they could to chase away each others loneliness, fear, and pain throughout their movements.

Last night had not been everything Inara (and she suspected) Mal had hoped it would be, Inara reflected from the place she still occupied under the covers. But it had been what Malcolm and her had needed at the moment. So Inara couldn't bring herself to regret making love to the captain last night, or how good it had felt to fall asleep in Mal's arms.

Still, the ex-companion frowned as she temporarily deactivated the camera in her room and got ready for her day. It had been a rude awakening when she had awoken alone this morning. In fact, the more Inara thought about it as she got dressed, applied her makeup, and did her hair, the more angry she became at the captain for leaving her alone when she was at her most vulnerable, both emotionally and physically. By the time that Inara had exited her room and headed for the breakfast table that morning, she was seething internally, even though she had a schooled smile on her face for the cameras. However, when Inara saw Mal standing with his back to her in the doorway of the dining room, the former companion lost a little bit of her composure "Malcolm Reynolds! You better have a good explanation for..."

But the ex-companion's anger turned to confusion in fear when she round the corner into the dining room, and saw a bunch of worried faces, and moments later, every camera operator in the room, turning towards Inara with worried looks on their faces. "What's wrong? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

It was only then that Gabriel Tam stepped forward to address Inara's question. "I'm afraid that might be my fault. You see, after your friend here..." Gabriel nodded at Mal. "Came to me and Simon this morning to tell us about your precarious physical condition, my son and I began to confer about what options you would have in the near future, and I'm afraid that, while we were doing so, Miss Freye overheard us, and she alerted the rest of your crew before my son and I could stop her. I'm sorry for accidentally allowing your private health information to be leaked to a third party, Miss Serra."

Mal shrugged, but looked right at Inara as he spoke. "I didn't expect everyone to find out, at least not today. But I did what I had to do, Inara. And I do it again, if it means you have the slightest chance of getting through this."

Inara just shook her head at Mal and the older man, then turned towards Kaylee, whose gaze was downcast even as her eyes appeared to be on the edge of tears. "I'm sorry, Inara, but they needed to know. We're not just a crew, we're like family. When one of us is hurting, the rest of us should know, so we can be there for each other."

Inarra sighed. As much as she wanted to berate Kaylee for not respecting her privacy, doing so while the mechanic was already down would feel too much like kicking a puppy for the former companion's taste, especially since Kaylee had only been acting out of concern for Inara's welfare. And Simon and Gabriel had at least attempted, however poorly, to respect Inara's privacy, and keep her health info private. Therefore, Inara's ire landed squarely on Malcolm's shoulder's. "How could you, Mal! I told you about what was happening to me in confidence. You and you alone! You had no right to tell anyone else..."

"Inara." Simon tried to interrupt, but Inara kept talking. "about what is happening to me. Nobody else needed to know that I am dying!"

The eyes of most of the crew members widened then, but nobody seemed more shocked then Kaylee. "You're dying?! I heard that whatever you had was bad, but guai! Nobody said you were dying!"

Gabriel cleared his throat. "Miss Serra, there's something you should know about Frank Roddenberry disease ..."

Inara turned her gave to Gabriel for only a second. "Please stay out of this, Dr. Tam!" She then turned back towards Malcolm. " Why would you tell Simon and his father about..."

River crossed her arms and huffed before she yelled "Can she be quiet for just one gorram second?! Her...My father and brother are trying to tell you something important!"

Everyone was startled by River's unexpected outburst, but Inara took River's words to heart and remained silent long enough for Simon to give a grateful nod and mouth the words "Thank you mei mei" before he turned to Inara and said. "Inara...the disease you have is serious, and if left, untreated, will kill you. That is true. But there are treatments available for Frank Roddenberry disease. The bad news is, they are all very expensive, and the treatment with the highest rate of success has some unpleasant side effects, such as hair and weight loss, vomiting, and extreme pain. The good news is...there may be as high as an eighty percent chance, given the resources at our disposal in this compound, that my father and I will be able to, not just treat, but permanently cure you of your illness."

Gabriel nodded. "My son speaks the truth. For all of the problems he has caused us, our generous benefactor had given us access to some of the best medical tech in the 'Verse. My son is a brilliant doctor, better than I ever was at his age, and I have successfully treated individuals with your condition three times already. Between the two of us, I have every confidence we can cure you, Miss Serra. But we need to start treatment as soon as possible, before your symptoms manifest themselves, by which times your odds of survival drop dramatically. I wouldn't be too hard on Mr. Reynolds, Ma'am. By telling us about your condition when he did, he might have saved your life. So, do you think you will be ready to discuss beginning treatment today? How does after breakfast sound?"

Inara shook her head in confusion. "What you're saying is impossible! The doctor on Ariel assured me there was no treatment for my condition! Why would he lie to me about something like that?!

Father and son exchanged frowns, but it was Simon who looked furious when he turned to Inara and spoke. "Doctors paid by the Companion's Guild are often...encouraged to tell patients that require expensive medical treatments to survive, that their condition is terminal, even if, given the right treatments, the patient in question, such as yourself, has a good chance of survival. I've heard about that practice, whispered by some of my peers in med school, but I didn't want to believe that such a flagrant breach of medical ethics was occurring on a regular basis."

Gabriel shook his head and spoke while Inara's eyes widened. "It's true, I'm afraid. Doctors that take on companion's as patients are usually forced to sign contracts forcing them to implement so-called "common sense" cost controls to keep the Companion's Guild from having to pay more than they want to for their employee's health care. That's why I've always refused to take companions on as clients in my line of work."

Inara scowled. "I can't believe this. Are you saying that my disease is treatable, but because it costs a lot to do, so the Companion's Guild was just going to let me die?"

Simon and Gabriel Tam just nodded, but Reagan, as well as all of Serenity's crew members, looked absolutely furious. For a long moment, nobody dared to speak. But eventually, Jayne grew tired of the uncomfortable silence in the room. The mercenary shook his head. "You know, I never thought I would see the day that I would hate an organization dedicated to whoring but..."

Jayne stopped speaking after Inara shot the large man a glance of warning, but the ex-companion's smile showed that she understood Jayne was trying to be supportive. In his own...unique way. Now that he felt he could speak again, the captain cleared his throat. "So...um...how long should this treatment of yours take, exactly?"

Simon shrugged and turned to his father, who sighed and said. "It depends. Some times treatment can take as little as a week. Sometimes it can take a month...and sometimes, treatment for Miss Serra's illness can take as long as six months. Provided, of course, that the patient survives that long."

Inara's eyes widened a bit, and the former companion looked fearful for a moment, until Malcolm put his hand on her arm and said "Hey, you are going to be okay. I'm not letting you go anywhere now that you and I have, you know...Now that there's an us."

Most of the crew looked at Jayne, expecting him to make some rude insinuation about the captain and the former companion's love life, but the man stayed silent instead. And River had a strange smirk on her face for some reason when her father cleared his throat and resumed speaking. "It's impossible for me to give a clear prognosis for your condition now, Miss Serra. In order for me to do that, Doctor Simon Tam and I will need to do a more thorough examination of the effected tissues in your body using the specialized equipment in the infirmary. That being said...you're still asymptomatic, correct?"

Inara just nodded, and Gabriel resumed speaking. "Good. That means the odds are quite good that your prognosis will be a good one. As I said earlier, Doctor Simon Tam and myself will need to do some tests and evaluations to be sure of that conclusion. From there, he and I can determine what treatments will be needed. But first, Doctor Simon and I should have a private consultation with you. Again, how does immediately after breakfast sound?"

Inara, for the first time noticing that cameras were filming one of the most private moments of her life, hesitated only a second before she nodded her head. "That would be agreeable." The former companion forced a smile. "So...what's for breakfast?"

Jayne and River laughed simultaneously, then looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes, before the big man shrugged, and everybody took their place at the the table to eat breakfast. Malcolm sat at Inara's right during the meal, and Kaylee sat at the former companion's left, with Simon sitting at Kaylee's left. Although Mal wasn't one for openly displaying affection in public, the man did sit closer to the ex-companion than he would have dared to in the past, and he purposely rubbed elbows with his girl on more than one occasion, while shooting Inara the occasional reassuring smile. Kaylee, on the other hand, wasn't so subtle, and the mechanic squeezed Inara's left hand once during the meal and whispered. "We're all here for you, Inara."

Inara nodded and smiled after she saw everyone else at the table, including Reagan Tam, nod in affirmation of Kaylee's words. "I know."

The rest of the meal passed in silence, and when it was all over, the doctors Tam went to speak with Inara privately (or, as private as could be expected when they were being filmed) in the living room.. Everyone else scattered ten different directions. Malcolm ended up pacing in the kitchen, the room closest to the living room, hoping he would be the first person outside that room to hear more about what was happening to his girl. Zoe went to check out the shooting gallery that Jayne had mentioned earlier, and maybe the movie theater he had mentioned. Meanwhile, Kaylee decided to spend some time on the ship, while Reagan tried to engage in small talk with River, who was still in the dining room, drawing a picture of one of the creatures in her nightmares using a pen and paper she had "borrowed" from Simon.

The mother/daughter talk was actually going pretty well, so far as Reagan could understand a little more than half of what her daughter was talking about (aside from references to men with "hands of blue" and several musings where River called herself an albatross, when Jayne stepped into the dining room. Unfortunately, the large mercenary, who had just finished serving himself some oatmeal from the kitchen, since he was still hungry after breakfast, was soon followed into the dining room by the camera crew. The mercenary sighed. "What do you people want?"

The head camera guy laughed. "Oh, we both know this isn't about what I want. This is about what the people of the 'Verse want! And our generous benefactor believes that the people of the 'Verse need to hear a little bit more from you, Jayne Cobb, about the evils of the Alliance government! So what do you say we finish that interview we started with you yesterday?!"

Jayne sighed. "I already told you buhn dahn everything I know about the things the Alliance has done! My home planet didn't get destroyed, like Mal! I didn't fight in no war, like the captain and Zoe! And I sure as guai didn't have my brain-pan, or that of someone I care about, get all messed up by Alliance scientists! I'm not the guy that you should be looking to tell the 'Verse about how gorram bad the Alliance is! Go talk to someone else!"

The leader of the camera crew frowned for only a second before he forced a smile on his face. "Very well then..."

All the cameras where then pointed in River Tam's direction. "How about you, Miss Tam? We've already interviewed you parents about their experience of losing their children due to the Alliance's evil machinations, but we haven't heard from you, the person in this villa who has experienced the most...direct suffering due to the Alliance government. Do you have any thoughts about the Academy, or the people the Alliance payed to torture you and turn you into a weapon?"

River, who had been talking and laughing with her mom for the last five minutes, stiffened in her chair, and her suddenly serious eyes turned downward. "I don't want to talk about that. Go away."

Reagan turned towards the show crew. "Maybe this isn't the best time..."

The head cameraman shook his his head. "No. I think now is the perfect time to interview little Miss Tam here. While you are here, Mrs. Tam, you can keep River from wandering off or having one of her...outbursts, like the one she had yesterday."

Reagan frowned. " I haven't been able to control River since she started walking. And as for yesterday, I don't know what you are talking about. What outburst?"

Jayne laughed. "Your little girl kicked over a bar stool and broke a mirror with a whiskey bottle faster than most men can blink! It was..."

The large man frowned, unable to find a suitable ending for that sentence. "Well, it was something."

Reagan Tam turned towards River, who was currently giving Jayne a dark look that made the hairs on the back of the mercenary's neck stand on end. The older woman sighed. "River, is this true?"

River shrugged, still not taking her gaze away from Jayne, although the large man didn't recognize the intense look that the youngest Tam was giving him now as she spoke. "The mirror had it coming. It doesn't show who I really am. Only shows what looks like a little girl when a grown woman stands before it. It was defective, and needed to be destroyed. But a tracker should know better than to trust the surface of things. It is his job to read people, as well as tracks, yes?"

Jayne shrugged right back. "Gir...River, I don't know what you're talking about. But it's obvious that me calling you 'girl' yesterday offended you. So I'll try to stop doing that if that will keep you from getting violent. Dohn-ma?"

River nodded. "This would be acceptable. Also, I do not foresee me going psycho, the words you wanted to use, but did not, anytime in the near future. As long as the eyes and ears of the 'Verse..." The young woman glared pointedly at the camera crew. "Do not persist in asking her about the Academy at this time. If they persist in asking about the horrible place, the eyes and ears of the 'Verse will bleed."

A collective shudder went through the camera crew, but a moment later, an angry expression came across the lead A/V person's face, and Jayne noticed that the lone "bodyguard" in the room had his hand halfway to his holster already. Deciding to stop a bloodbath before it could get started, the large mercenary held up one of his hands. "Wait! I changed my mind! I do have one other story about the Alliance that I ain't told you yet! You should continue my talking piece first, then talk to River about the Academy some other day. You know, on a day that she's not acting so gorram crazy with her threats and such!"

River exhaled loudly and nodded gratefully at Jayne as the cameras all moved to face the mercenary. The head cameraman smiled as the mood in the room improved dramatically in the space of a few seconds. "Excellent, Mr. Cobb! Now, since there is no time like the present, and we've already wasted valuable film time today, why don't you go ahead and tell us more about the evil Alliance?"

Jayne shrugged. "Ain't to much else to tell. I have a younger brother, named Matthew. But everyone calls him Mattie. He used to work in some Alliance factory on Beowulf. I'm not really sure what it was they were making there, he wouldn't say. In fact, he didn't really know. Said people at this factory only make one part, and other parts to whatever it was they were building were made elsewhere. Whatever they were making though, it wasn't safe, because my little brother got real sick after working there for about a month, and some of the other workers there got sick too. Every single person who worked in that factory got damp lung, and my brother still has it. But by the time my brother went to the Alliance, hat in his hand, asking for help with his medical bills, the factory was closed, and the government denied any responsibility for what happened. They refused to cure my brother, even though they had the tech. As a result, to this day, my family still has to take care of Mattie,"

River looked up from her place at the nearby table. "Jayne helps too. Sends money to his family regularly to help take care of his little brother."

Jayne coughed as his cheeks turned slightly red. "It ain't nothing. Just a small fraction of the money my brother needs to stay alive ."

The camera crew members talked among each other for several seconds before the head cameraman turned to Jayne and said. "Interesting. Mr. Cobb, would you be so kind as to go into the living room? Our...benefactor would like to discuss something with you in private over a wave, if you don't mind. He would like to hear more about this brother of yours."

The mercenary raised an eyebrow. "Um...okay. I'll go speak to Niska. I mean, our benefactor, or whatever. It's not like I really have a choice in the matter, right?"

The cameraman who Jayne had pushed two days ago smirked and stage whispered. "Not really."

Jayne sighed and did as he was asked. The mercenary only allowed himself a quick glance at River, who smiled and nodded, to insure himself that he wasn't about to walk into a trap. Then the muscular man walked into the living room behind the camera crew.

River watched Jayne leave the room and frowned. Reagan noted the look on her daughter's face and said. "Is everything okay, River? I can tell that the camera crew upset you when they asked about the Academy, but none of them want to hurt you or Jayne. They're just trying to help..."

The young, dark-haired woman rolled her eyes as she replied."They are only trying to help themselves. But she knows they won't hurt her. I'm not stupid. But she...I don't like talking about that place. Maybe later I will talk. But right now the bird is too frightened to sing. She...I will be fine."

As River continued to stare off into the distance in the directions of the living room, Reagan shook her head, trying to ignore River's strange speech patterns, which the mother was still getting used to, while hoping they would not be permanent. "But something else is wrong. I can tell. Does it have anything to do with your friend, Mr. Cobb?"

River shook her head, but she wouldn't meet her mother's eyes as she spoke. "It is not relevant. You wanted to speak with me about the treatment that Gab...dad and Simon have been working on, to make me not so whimsical in the brain pan?"

Reagan nodded. "How did you...Oh, right. Some of your friends told me about the...abilities you have. I'm sorry, River, I just...I always thought stories about psychics were just made up children's fables and fodder for bad soap operas. I never dreamed that my daughter would be..."

"A freak?"

River looked away from her mother, but Reagan gently took her daughter's face in her hands so that River would make eye contact with her. "No. That is a word that other people have used to describe special people like you. I saw someone call readers that name on television once, but I never meant to think that word! You are special, River! Gifted. You always have been, but it seems even your father and I underestimated just how special you were. But when the Academy did...whatever they did to bring your talent out, they also hurt you, and changed you in other ways too."

River shook her head as a single tear ran down her face. "She. I am damaged. I am sorry that I am not the daughter you remember."

Reagan slowly brought her daughter into a hug. "No. I'm sorry. Sorry that we sent you to the horrible place where the Alliance hurt you. Sorry that your father and I didn't see the signs that there was something wrong with the Academy when they wouldn't let your father and I visit there first before sending you. Sorry that we didn't believe Simon when he told us you were..."

River hesitantly hugged her mother back and shook her head. "You didn't know. You should have, but you didn't. You wanted to trust the regime you had lived under all your life was good. That they wouldn't hurt me."

Reagan pulled away from her daughter and nodded. "Exactly. But we shouldn't have trusted..."

River shook her head emphatically before she wiped away, first her own, then her mother's, tears. "You didn't know. I understand. And she...I forgive you. Simon will need more time, but I forgive you and father."

Reagan smiled. "Thank you."

River shrugged. "Neither of you are the ones that did this too me. But I am still damaged. Still crazy."

Reagan Tam shook her head. "Maybe not forever. Your father knows of an experimental treatment. It just came out a few months ago on Osiris, but the materials required for it are right here in the Villa. A neurochemical treatment that may help people with brain damage better regulate emotions and block unwanted cognitions. Your father thinks that, with Simon's help, he can heal your brain, and with it, your mind. He thinks he can help make you normal again...or at least, as normal as you used to be."

River smirked. "I was never normal, mom. But it would be...nice to be less crazy. Maybe certain people would see her differently if she was sane."

Reagan smirked. "Like Jayne Cobb? He's not the sort I would have picked for you, but it's nice to see you showing an interest in someone. Even on Osiris, your were always inside your own head too much to pay attention to boys. Or maybe I'm wrong, and it's girls. Girls would be fine too, if that is what you like."

River rolled her eyes. "She is not a lesbian, mother. And she does not want to have this conversation with you."

Reagan sighed. "Fine. But I'm still your mother, River. You can talk to me about anything. Now, let's talk some more about this brain treatment your father and brother may be able to help you with. They were thinking of starting that later this afternoon, after beginning Inara's treatment, if that is all right with you."

Several hours later, in a room just outside of the infirmary, Inara sat up from the sofa she had been lying on for the last sixty minutes. The woman let out an involuntary moan of pain as she did so as the procedure the doctors Tam had just performed on her an hour ago had been a painful one. " Go se!"

River entered the room from the infirmary and responded to Inara's unusually colorful language. "You are in pain."

Inara groaned. "A little. But if your father and brother are right, there's still about a sixty percent chance that I'll survive if I continue receiving treatment for another month or so."

River frowned, and Inara did as well, as she noticed that River was acting...different in a way that the former companion couldn't put her finger on. The younger girl spoke. "Not the shiniest odds."

Inara forced out a laugh. "No. But it's far better than the certainty of death I had before. If I live, all of this pain will be worth it, even if my lungs are on fire right now. What about you? Simon and your father wouldn't tell me what they were treating you for. I assume it has something to do with your brain?"

River smirked as she sat down next to Inara, but answered the slightly older woman's leading question. "Yes. They are trying to make me sane. Treatment involves inserting several packets of artificially grown neurotransmitters into my brain over the span of a month..." River lifted up her hair so that Inara could see the large bandage on the back of her head. "It is hoped that these neurotransmitters will eventually, in layman's terms, help my brain grow a new amygdala, and restore other tissue that the doctors at the Academy purposefully damaged. They will also restructure my brain in such a way that my mind will no longer be forced to remember or act upon pre-inserted programming triggered via subliminal messages."

Inara shook her head. "River...I'm not sure I understood all of the that."

River frowned once again. "Sorry. I mean that Simon and my father are attempting to help my brain heal itself. They are also trying to prevent my Alliance programming taking me over again, as it did when I attacked Jayne, Mal, and many other people at the Maidenhead."

Inara nodded. "Yes. Mal told me all about that little incident on Serenity shortly after I was forced to rescue him, when he had been trying to rescue me from the Operative, at the training house. But after this treatment of yours, the Alliance won't be able to make you hurt people anymore, and you'll be less, well..."

River smiled slightly. "Crazy?"

Inara shrugged. "I was going for a euphemism. Those are all great things, River. Simon tells me you're the brains of the Tam family. Is it working?"

River nodded slowly. "I'm not sure. I'm not a doctor. But...I think so. I already feel a little different. Things aren't as...loud. Emotions aren't quite as intense as before..."

Inara picked up on the hesitant tone of River's voice and added. "But..."

River sighed deeply. "Even after one round of treatment, I don't see things the same way. I can still hear people's feelings, but not their thoughts. For instance, I know you are apprehensive about something...besides the possibility of dying, which would normally produce panic, rather than just worry. But I can't tell what you are actually worried about. Simon thinks that this reduction in my abilities are temporary, but father thinks that I may lose some of my...gifts completely by the time the last treatment is administered. He thinks that, if he and Simon are successful, I will lose all my psychic abilities before she fully regains her sanity."

River looked at Inara. "I should still continue though, shouldn't I? So that I can stop being crazy. Be normal, like before? Then Simon will stop seeing me as a baby that needs to be coddled, and...others will see me a woman, intact and whole. Not a weapon, or a crazy little girl."

Inara sighed. "I don't know. Hopefully, Simon is right, and you will be able to retain your gifts while becoming more...stable. But there may come a time where you have to choose between being psychic, or being, how should I say this? Neurotypical. And that's a choice only you can make. Either way, you'll lose something."

River nodded. "I was afraid you might say that. So, what are you afraid of losing? Besides your life?"

Inara shook her head. "If I tell you, you will think I'm being ridiculous."

River gave Inara a look and rolled her eyes, causing the former companion to laugh. "Okay, fine. My hair. I'm afraid I will lose my hair. Your brother said it was a common side effect of the treatment I am undergoing to try to help me."

The younger girl smiled knowingly. "You're afraid Mal won't like you as much if you lost the dead skin cells on top of your head, and that he won't have sex with you anymore?"

Inara scowled. "First of all, I am not talking about my private business with you. Second of all...how did you know that? Did you read mine or Mal's minds?"

River smirked and shook her head. "Didn't have too. The captain's clothes were more disheveled than usual at breakfast. And Mal carries himself differently shortly after sex. He was obviously upset about your precarious physical condition, but he walked the same way he did after he had sex with Nandi months ago."

Inara's fist clenched for only a moment before she calmed herself down and replied. "Let's not talk about any of the captain's sexual exploits, okay?"

River nodded. "Okay. You should probably know that everyone else on Serenity's crew also knows or suspects that you and Mal had intercourse though."

Inara shook her head, covering her face so that the hidden cameras in the room couldn't see her face turn crimson. "Oh merciful Buddha! As if I didn't have enough troubles already..."

River laughed. "They...we, all think it's...shiny. It doesn't take a psychic to know that you and the captain have loved each other for a long time. I hope you both live long enough to have lots of fat, happy children."

Inara smiled a little at River's use of the biting words she had thrown in Malcolm's face when he had unwittingly "married" the woman who called herself Saffron. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, River. We don't know that my...whatever I have with the captain, is going to last that long, even if I live."

River smiled. "I've seen inside the captain's heart, and yours. If you live, I think the two of you will be in it for the long haul.."

At Inara's look, River elaborated. "It's an old expression, dating back to Earth-that was. It means that I think you and the captain will probably be together for life. You shouldn't worry about your hair. I know it would probably hurt your pride, but if all fell out, Mal would love you anyway."

Inara laughed. "It's sad that makes me feel better when I'm sitting here, facing the prospect of my probable demise, but it does. Thank you."

River shrugged. "Just the truth, is all. And I understand. I imagine it helps to have something...someone, to live for."

Inara smiled. "Yes. I suppose it does." Seeing the worried look on River's face, Inara added. "And I'm sure you'll find your special someone someday"

River sighed. "Even I don't fully know what tomorrow will bring. But I suppose it doesn't hurt to cautiously optimistic. After all, today was much better than yesterday."

Inara only had enough time to nod before River quickly stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Inara to reflect. For her at least, today had been better than yesterday for both herself and River. Today, both woman had hope that their lives could change for the better, and that their futures could be brighter than their pasts. The ex-companion just hoped that this trend continued for everyone in the mansion for the rest of the month.

 **AN: First of all, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who had been reading this story and giving me feedback. Your input is greatly appreciated! A special thanks goes out to ,bjq, Hawki, galwidanatitud, and cowgirlcadet1701, who reviewed my last chapter! Thank you all for your support, and please let me know what you thought of this chapter!**

 **And of course, a very special thanks goes out to my beta reader, without whose help this story would stink worse than reaver droppings!**

 **Until next time, I am...**

 **-supercode**


	7. An Unexpected Guest

The next week passed by relatively uneventfully. River and Inara's separate treatments both continued, with only small signs of improvement from both patients. The bacteria in Inara's lungs had started to decrease in number, but more treatment was obviously still needed, and the dark-haired former companion had already begun to lose small amounts of hair due to her painful treatments. River's cognitive functioning seemed to be improving, as she was less likely to speak in riddles or have violent temper tantrums now, and more likely to speak in proper nouns.

However, River had also become noticeably less...perceptive as her brain treatments continued, as evidenced by the fact that she was now finishing other people sentences less frequently, and the reader was now more likely to seem surprised by the revelations of others. For example, when River asked Simon why he rarely talked to their father outside of the infirmary, Simon's sister had genuinely been surprised when her older sibling sighed and said. "I didn't want to say anything to you about this, mei-mei, because I know you have been getting along better with both our mother and Gab...our father. And I thought you knew...um..."

Simon had busied himself cleaning some of his surgical instruments then, as he thought about the right words to say to his sister about this awkward subject. Finally, the gifted young woman's elder brother settled on, "Gabriel doesn't think that Kaylee's good enough for me. He said as much about a week ago, right in front of her. And Re...mom, I think she agrees with Gabriel, but she's too nice to say so. They both seem to think Kaylee's a gold digger, or just wants me because I'm a doctor, or some such nonsense. Gorramit! They're both acting like the same stuck up Buhn Dahn as they were when they wouldn't help me find out what was happening to you at the Academy! You do what you want, mei mei, but if they're going to just keep on being like that..."

Simon had shook his head. "I don't want them in my life again, River! I won't play the part of the dutiful son again if it means that I have to listen to them talk about Kaylee like she is a Meh Lien Duh Jyah Jee! I Can't! So, until this Yu Bun Duh show is done filming, I'll continue to have polite chats with Reagan from time to time, and I'll keep helping Gabriel treat you and Inara, since your sanity and our friend's life are more important than some petty familial dispute! But...if nothing changes before "Walking Alongside the Tams" is done filming...I don't want anything to do with our parents ever again!"

River had sighed then. "I didn't know. I couldn't read any of that in your head, Simon. I'm sorry. But...maybe if you and Kaylee just sat down and talked to mom and dad, they would realize that Kaylee is a really shiny person, and the four of you could start getting along again. If all of you just sat down and talked...I'm sure mom and dad would like Kaylee as much as I do. I just know it!"

Simon had just sighed at River's words and said. "How could you possibly know that, River?! Since your treatments started, you're barely a psychic anymore..."

River had quickly bolted out of the room then, and was only at that moment that Simon comprehended how much his words had hurt his sister. The young doctor had tried to chase his sister down then, shouting "River!" the whole time. But of course, Simon's sneaky little sister had not let herself be found for the rest of that day, and the gifted young woman had refused to talk to her brother, or anybody else, about her dwindling psychic abilities ever since.

Still, despite all of the stressors present on "set", life went on for the cast members of "Walking Along side the Tams." Simon and Kaylee's relationship continued to bloom, despite the former's disapproving parents, as did Malcolm and Inara's. And even though the scruffy captain and the stylish ex-companion still had heated arguments from time to time, they always passionately made up later Zoe was still in mourning, but she was beginning the process of coming out of her shell and interacting with the other Serenity crew members more often now. Jayne, on the other hand, seemed to become even more withdrawn than usual as time passed, especially around River, for reasons he did not feel like sharing with anyone.

River was starting to become something of a social butterfly, as her steadily returning sanity and less awkward speech made it easier for her to socialize with her family members, Serenity's crew members, and even some of the cameramen. Taking some advice she had gotten from both Inara and Kaylee, the psychic also made it a point to smile more...with mixed results. Although the rest of the Tams, and Kaylee, all praised River's attempts at grinning, the other members of the reality show's cast would wince a little when the former unwilling subject of an Alliance experiment would open her mouth a little too wide, showing too many teeth, every time she smiled. And Malcolm Reynolds even commented on one occasion that River's new smile. "Was a mite creepifying."

However, nobody seemed to be more disturbed by River Tam's changing behavior than Jayne Cobb. At first, the mercenary had been glad that the young woman's behavior had been less violent and unpredictable lately. But as time went on, and the new, more sociable River began spending more time around other people, including around the mercenary himself, the "hero of Canton" became more and more agitated by River's constant questions about matters both personal and inane, like. "What planet do you come from? How many family members do you have? What's your favorite food? Do you have a favorite color?" All of the "psychic's" questions bothered Jayne, for two reasons. One, the mercenary wasn't the best talker in the 'Verse, and he tended to avoid engaging in small talk to often...something the "new River" wasn't allowing him to do. Furthermore, although the idea of River being able to pull thoughts straight out of his mind used to creep out Jayne out, the mercenary realized he had gotten used to River's psychic abilities long ago. He had started taking it for granted that the "crazy girl", at least, would always be able to understand what he was thinking, even when Jayne himself didn't always know how to articulate his thoughts with words. Evidently, as evidenced by all of her questions, the treatment which was responsible for River's improving mental state had also somehow removed the silent understanding that Jayne and River had developed since the day River had threatened that she could kill the mercenary with her brain.

But none of these changes in River's behavior bothered the mercenary more than the girl's flirting. The formerly crazy girl would now bat her recently extended eyelashes in his direction sometimes, or laugh far too hard at the mercenary's jokes, or smile way too long in that forced, unnerving manner of hers when River was in Jayne's presence. When the mercenary had asked Kaylee what was behind River's suddenly flirtatious behavior, Kaylee had just laughed. "River just took me and Inara's advice to practice flirting with men she felt comfortable around, that's all. That way, River will be prepared when she finds a shiny young man that catches her fancy."

Jayne supposed that explanation made a heck of a lot more sense than River liking him all of the sudden. And Kaylee's words seemed to be confirmed when Jayne saw River talking and making eyes at one of the cameramen the day after the mechanic had explained River's suddenly girly behavior, However, Jayne found it suspicious that this occasion had been the only time the mercenary caught River flirting with anyone other than himself. And in any case, no matter why the gifted young woman was doing it, Jayne found it unnerving every time the woman who had once slashed him in the chest with a kitchen knife, the same woman who Jayne had once attempted to sell out to the Alliance for money, made eyes at him.

Things finally came to a head after a long afternoon of the youngest Tam following the mercenary around the set of "Walking Alongside the Tams" and asking question after question, while constantly batting her eyes at Jayne and laughing at every other word out of Jayne's mouth. Sometime around 2 PM that day, Jayne decided he couldn't take River's strange new behavior anymore. "That's enough, girl! Enough questions! Enough flirting! Enough laughing at jokes that we both know aren't funny! Now, I'm pleased as punch that you ain't crazy no more, but right now, you are acting stranger than when you were whimsical in the brain pan! Because this..."

Jayne gestured to River, whose hair had been groomed to perfection that day, and who was currently wearing a fancy dress, socks and high-heeled shoes. "Is a person I don't even know! The River Tam I knew was crazy, but she didn't care what other people, what any man but her brother, thought about her. She always did precisely what she wanted to do, when she wanted to do it. She was the kind of girl that didn't dress all girly for nobody! And I respected the Guai out of that girl for that! And yeah, sometimes she went all rutting helpless, but sometimes she was a the best warrior I'd ever seen, like one of those angels of death that I heard about once when my mama used to make me go to Sunday school. That girl wasn't the type that needed to flirt with a man, and if she did set her sights on some poor Hwen Dan, she probably would have just reached out and taken him! And that girl didn't need to ask me what I thought about something and wait for me to babble out a poorly worded answer like some moon-brained moron, because she would already know what I was thinking! That River Tam was easier to talk to! So as glad as everyone is that you ain't insane no more, I gotta say, I liked you better when you were gorram crazy!"

River just nodded at Jayne's words, then wordlessly walked away from the mercenary, then all the way back to her room. The former psychic didn't even stop even when Jayne shouted. "Hey! C'mon! I didn't mean that!" But even without the ability to read the mercenary's mind, River knew that Jayne meant every word he had said.

To his credit, Jayne had tried to smooth things over with River by convincing Kaylee to speak to the younger woman on his behalf (although he had needed to bribe the mechanic with strawberries he picked from the Estate's garden to get Kaylee to talk to River for him). However, even the message Kaylee had relayed to River about her argument with the mercenary, that Jayne "Didn't mean anything by it." and that "He's glad you ain't crazy no more," hadn't lifted River's spirits. So the gifted young woman had avoided Jayne as much as possible throughout the rest of that week. Also, for reasons unknown to Jayne, both Simon and the elder Tams were now giving the mercenary the silent treatment and glaring at the large man on occasion

There were times, however, when everyone on the cast of "Walking Alongside the Tams" was forced to gather in one place together, and "broadcast nights" were one of those times. During one such evening, the cast members were all sitting around the TV in the living room, with Simon and Kaylee sitting on a sofa as far away from the elder Tams as they could, while Jayne sat as far away from River as he could manage. Despite the tension present between several of the cast members, however, most of the occupants of the room were currently bored out of their minds.

Unlike some of the previous broadcasts, which had featured interviews from several members of the Serenity's crew, tonight's broadcast had only featured one such interview: that of a lucid River Tam talking about her experiences being experimented on by the Alliance. Most of the cast members agreed that the gifted woman's recounting of her experiences at the Academy were quite moving. Especially the moment were River had cried for a few seconds when she told the cameraman that "Scientists stuck needles in my brain" (a display which made everyone in the room but River look away from the screen for a moment, and a certain mercenary to look very intently at his shoes while the rest of the interview had aired). However, the fact that River could no longer remember much of what the Alliance had done to her since her father and brother's brain treatments had overwritten much of the government conditioning from River's conscious experience made River's interview more devoid of factual content than Malcolm's detailed descriptions of the Alliance's atrocities during the war. Or Zoe's morbid account of the death of Hoban Washburne at the hands of the Alliance's most brutal creations: the Reavers.

Furthermore, outside of River's interview about her time at the Academy, most of the episode of "Keeping up with the Tams" was just boring. Sure, the introduction to the show had recently gotten fixed, although not quite to the Serenity crew's satisfaction, as the beginning of each episode now tacitly acknowledged that the rest of that "boat's" crew had "heroically aided the Tam siblings in their quest to get the truth of the Alliance's evil machinations out to the 'Verse." But even that change didn't keep Mal and his crew from wanting to sleep through the rest of the episode, which mostly just consisted of the camera crew trying to stir up drama between the cast members who were avoiding each other (all of whom had just answered 'no comment' when asked about their various interpersonal difficulties). Other than these pointless attempts at melodrama, the rest of the episode had mostly consisted of coverage of River and Inara's treatments for their very different maladies. But since forward progress for both of these subjects had been slow, and neither the youngest Tam nor the former companion were exhibiting any severe, visible side effects yet, even those parts of the night's episode were somewhat boring."

Finally, after the episode rapped up, Jayne scowled and said what everyone else in the room was thinking. "Well, that was a waste of time. Can we go now?"

The "host" for the show shook his head. "Not just yet. Mr. Niska has a surprise for all of you that should be arriving shortly."

The host then gave Jayne a pointed look, even as the sound of a shuttle landing echoed throughout the estate, and and the mercenary's eyes widened. "You didn't."

The host just smiled, causing everyone else in the room to turn to Jayne before the captain asked. "What is the man talking about, Jayne? Do you know what's going on here?"

Jayne ignored the question as he glared at the show host. "I swear to you, if he got hurt in any way during transit, if his condition is the least bit unshiny I will personally put you in a body bag!"

While the rest of the crew members looked at Jayne with looks of alarm on their faces, the mercenary's heated remarks actually brought a smile to River's face. "You mean he's here. I finally get to meet..."

"Mattie." Jayne breathed out as he stood up to face his younger brother, who had just entered the room with numerous bags. The mercenary quickly composed himself however, and after taking a quick look at the scrawny man in front of him, who, apart from being less muscular, half a foot shorter, and clean-shaven, could have been Jayne's twin, the elder brother shook the younger one's hand. "It's good to see you, little brother."

Matthew Cobb just nodded and smiled for several seconds, before he quickly let go of Jayne's hand and forced his elder brother into a hug. The mercenary's eyes widened for a moment, and it took the larger man several seconds to break out of the shorter brother's forced hug. "What was that for?! You know I ain't the hugging kind!"

The younger brother laughed for several seconds, and soon the crew of Serenity (sans Jayne) was laughing with the younger brother (who coughed hard several times after he finished laughing) before he said. "I know! Why do you think I do that every time I see you, Jayne? It was worth it just for the look on your face!"

Jayne grumbled. "If you weren't sick, I would give you a thrashing you'd never forget for going and doing something like that in front of all my friends! How'd you get strong enough to hold me in place that long anyhow?! Ma and pa must be feeding you well for you to get strong enough to do that, with your damp lung and all!"

The younger brother's face fell a little bit. "Um, actually, your...benefactor has set me up to get cured of my damp lung, and they already had me go through the first round of treatments back home so I would be well enough to come finish up treatment here. Ni...I mean, our benefactor promised to pay for the whole thing, as long as I become part of the cast of "Walking Alongside the Tams" for the remainder of the show's air time. But there's something you should know."

As the doctors Tam started arguing with the host about being given a new patient without being consulted about him ahead of time, the rest of the cast watched the two brother's conversation closely now as the younger Cobb continued speaking. "Pa's dead. Me, ma and our brothers and sisters all attended his funeral the day before I left to come here."

Jayne immediately cast his eyes downward. "Oh. I'm..." The mercenary coughed. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Mattie sighed. "Jayne...I know that you and pa didn't see eye to eye on lots of things, and I know that's why you left, but..."

Jayne shook his head. "That don't mean I wanted him dead. How did it...how did it happen? And how's ma? Maybe if I'd have been there..."

Mattie shook his head. "It wouldn't have made any difference, Jayne. He had a stroke in his sleep. It weren't your fault. And the family understands why you left. That you and pa weren't getting along, and that you thought you could earn more money for the family as a merc out in the black than at a factory or shipyard anyway. No one blames you for not being there, not even ma, who took pa's death pretty hard."

Jayne shook his head. "Still...I should have been there for the funeral."

Mattie sighed. "It couldn't be helped. You were here. Doing important work for the 'Vers. It won't be safe for you, or me now, to come home, tensions with the Alliance and the rest of the 'Verse being what they are. Ma and Pa both understood that. In fact, when pa saw you on the TV screen, speaking out against the Alliance...that's the first time I ever heard him say he was proud of you."

Jayne nodded, struggling to keep tears from falling of his eyes. "Pa really said that?"

Mattie smiled. "Yeah. But enough about the home front Are you going to introduce me to this bunch of degenerates you've been hanging out with?!"

Everyone in the room smiled at the younger Cobb's words and light-hearted tone before the elder brother chuckled and gestured to all of the other members of the cast, one by one. "Sure! This here's the captain, and Serenity's current pilot, Malcolm Reynolds, but most of us just call him 'Mal'..." The man in question just nodded as Jayne kept speaking. "Then there's Zoe, apart from me, she's the brains of the operation." The dark-skinned woman in question just smirked and rolled her eyes as the merc continued speaking. "Her late husband, Wash, was the best pilot in the 'Verse too, before Reavers got him..."

Jayne cleared his throat. "Anyway, this here's Serenity's mechanic, Kaylee. She can fix a ship better than anyone I've ever met, and she annoys me less than anybody else on that ship" The bright eyed mechanic smiled warmly and waved at Mattie, and the younger Cobb responded with a more flirtatious grin of his own...before Simon Tam wrapped his arm around Kaylee's waist in a protective fashion while Kaylee looked at the ground in embarrassment.

Jayne laughed at this display, then added. "And she's spoken for, Di. I was going to warn you before you tried to start your womanizing ways up again, but it seems I was too late."

Mattie smiled. "Sorry. But you can't blame a man for trying, especially when he doesn't know a woman is spoken for, right?"

Simon Tam sighed and nodded in response to the younger Cobb's apology and Kaylee perked up considerably and gave Mattie a friendly (but not too friendly) smile before she shrugged and replied. "No harm done!"

Jayne rolled his eyes. "Anyway..." Jayne gestured to Inara. "This is Inara. She use to be a who.." Seeing the dark looks from every other member of Serenity's crew, the merc quickly amended his words. "I mean...she used to be a Companion, but she sorta quit, and no she's a full member of the crew. And before you go getting any ideas, Mattie, she's with the captain."

Mattie shrugged and looked at Inara. "Of course she is, I knew a woman as lovely as you wouldn't stay single for long once you were actually on the market. The captain's a lucky man. But I am still very pleased to make your acquaintance Miss Inara..." Matt bowed politely.

Inara allowed herself a small smile and finished the man's sentence. "Serra. And that's nice of you to say, Mr. Cobb. But you are probably right." Mal just shrugged, unable to disagree that he was lucky to have Inara in his life now, whatever the circumstances around their relationship may be, before Inara politely nodded her head back in Mattie's direction. "And I'm pleased to make your acquaintance as well."

Jayne turned towards his brother, half-grunting "showoff", before the merc turned around and introduced Mattie to the remaining cast members. " These folks are Dr. Gabriel and Reagan Tam, the two folks who came up with this reality show nonsense."

Gabriel just shrugged, and Reagan crossed her arms in front of her torso and huffed as Jayne finished making introductions. "And these other two are their kids, Simon and River Tam. Dr. Simon's our ship's medic. He can be a real pain in the Pi Gu, sometimes, but he's good at what he does, so the captain keeps him around." Simon rolled his eyes while River just smirked at the same time as Jayne introduced her. "River...well...River's a Jack of all trades, I guess. Or Jane...Never mind. Point is, she's good at lots of different things, when she's not too busy being whimsical in the brain-pan to do anything. Which has been more often lately. She's even helped save all of the crew's collective Pi Gus on a couple of occasions, including myself. Just don't get on her bad side. She once told me she could kill me with her brain, Is that still true, little one?

River smirked harder, and just for a moment, she had the same predatory look in her eyes that she had possessed when she had been killing Reavers on Mr. Universe's satellite. "Does he really want to test her, and find out?"

But the moment quickly passed, and a surprisingly pleasant smile came across River's face as she turned her gaze towards Mattie. The younger Cobb brother responded in kind before he spoke to all four Tams while bowing. "Pleased to meet you all, doctors Simon and Gabriel Tam, Mrs. Reagan Tam, Miss River Tam."

All four members of the Tam family bowed their heads slightly towards Mattie before Gabriel replied. "Me and my family are pleased to meet you as well, Mr. Cobb. I must say, I am surprised to meet someone from outside the Core-worlds who has as much knowledge of Osiris custom and a way with words as yourself."

Mattie just chuckled, even as the crew of Serenity (minus Inara and the Tam siblings) glared slightly at Gabriel for his choice of words as the younger Cobb brother resumed speaking. "Some of us living on the Rim are more educated in the ways of the 'Verse than you might think, Dr. Tam. Unlike the rest of my siblings, I was lucky enough to be able to graduate high school. And there are even a few universities and other centers of higher learning in Border and Rim space. Sadly, I never had the funds to attend any of them, but after I got sick.."

Mattie chuckled humorously. "I had some time on my hands. So me and my ma both got as many used books as we could get our hands over the last few years of my involuntary retirement, and I've read every one of those twenty six books, cover to cover, multiple times. One of those books just happened to concern proper etiquette and courtship rituals in the 'Verse."

Gabriel Tam smiled. "So you're self taught? That's quite remarkable."

Mattie shrugged and blushed slightly.. "Um...I guess so."

In a sudden burst of speed, River ran up to Mattie, until she was uncomfortably close to, but not actually touching, the younger Cobb's left arm. The youngest Tam then leaned towards Mattie's left ear, for several seconds, but nobody else was able to make out what, if anything the "psychic" had whispered into the young man's ear before she pulled away and offered Mattie her right hand with a smile and said. "We are all pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Matthew Cobb."

Matthew grinned widely as he lightly kissed the offered hand. "The pleasure is all mine, I'm sure. I'm enchanted to meet you, Miss River Tam."

River smiled back at Mattie and batted her eyelashes at the man for several seconds after the youngest Cobb let go of her hand. The young woman the retreated back towards her family members while speaking. "Good. She...we are all delighted to have you here and I hope that you and I can converse again soon."

This short conversation between Mattie and River drew mixed reactions from the cast members. Malcolm and Zoe seemed indifferent to the whole thing, although the captain did smirk slightly at the exchanging of words between the two young adults. Kaylee and Inara seemed pleased about River's flirtatious behavior towards the younger Cobb, if their smiles where anything to go by. The other Tams, however, had more subdued reactions, as Gabriel and Simon Tam both gave Mattie warning looks that fell just short of glares, silently promising a lot of pain in the younger Cobb's immediate future if he took advantage of River in any way. Reagan Tam's reaction was a bit more ambivalent, as she whispered in River's ear that "Matthew seems like a nice man, but be careful..."

However, if was Jayne's reaction that surprised everyone, including the mercenary himself, the most, as the older Cobb simply said. "I'm just gonna go to my room now. Nice to see you again, Mattie." The large man left the room then, but nobody missed the dead serious look on Jayne's face as he did so. Jayne saw and felt the others' questioning stares, but he didn't let that stop him from marching back to his bedroom as fast as he could.

The mercenary half-way shut, half-way slammed his bedroom door behind him before he sat on his bed and cursed. Buh Dahn! What's wrong with me!? What do I care if the crazy girl flirts with Mattie or not! She'll flirt with anyone now, and she's just a stupid girl, anyway!"

But none of Jayne's spoken thoughts made his rapid heart beat any slower, stopped the man's blood from boiling in his veins, or loosened the knots that had been in his stomache since the moment River had offered her hand to Mattie. And it was in that moment that Jayne realized that, for the first time in his life, he was jealous of his little brother. This was a novel experience for Jayne.

True, Mattie had always been the clever one, at least when it came to book smarts. Words and figures had always come easier for Mattie than they had for Jayne, which was why the former had graduated high school and the latter had barely finished the fourth grade before he had decided to join his pa working in the factory full-time, before he had been old enough to strike out on his own as a mercenary. But Jayne had never cared much for schooling anyway, and he had been happy to leave the books and learning to his younger brother. And yeah, Mattie had always been more popular with the ladies than his elder brother, at least before the younger Cobb got sick, but Jayne hadn't paid that any mind either. After all, any man who made a decent amount of coin could always pay to lay down with a woman often enough to scratch that particular itch, and Jayne hadn't ever had any use for women outside of the pleasure that decent whore could provide him on occasion, for a platinum or two a night. Besides, ever since Mattie had gotten sick, Jayne had felt little besides protectiveness and pity towards his younger brother. Until today, that is.

For some reason, River giving into Mattie's charms so easily had brought out emotions in Jayne's person that the mercenary didn't like one bit. Feelings that had been threatening to come back to the surface of Jayne's conciousness ever since River had started acting less crazy after Miranda. Jayne mentally berated himself for his foolishness, reminding himself that he had always vowed never to get so hung up on a woman that his emotions made him stupid, because in his line of work, being stupid could get you killed. So the mercenary had always told himself he would never end up like Mal, who frequently became confused when he was around Inara, or Simon, whose words still sometimes got confused around Kaylee. And the mercenary had always been adamant that he would never end up like the now-deceased Wash, who had treated Zoe like she hung the moon, and was his primary reason for existence.

Yet now, for the first time in all thirty years of life, Jayne was forced to admit to himself that he was feeling...something for River Tam. Something that was quite different, and much more intense, then the brotherly affection he felt for Kaylee and his flesh and blood sisters. But the emotions Jayne was feeling for the youngest Tam were also somehow different, deeper than the lust he had felt towards the many women the mercenary had bedded and/or leered at since he had hit puberty many years ago. Honestly, Jayne didn't know what he felt towards River, but he refused to call it love.

No, Jayne told himself, he couldn't possibly be in love with the crazy girl who had been laying down in that pod, naked as the day she was born, when the mercenary had first laid eyes upon her. A young woman he had felt guilty for finding attractive even then. Guilt which had only intensified when the mercenary had discovered that River Tam was crazy.

Since Jayne had learned about River's unstable mental condition almost a year ago, the mercenary had attempted to look at River as little as possible. Jayne had even attempted to avoid the crazy girl and her pain-in-the-neck brother when he could, and be as unfriendly towards the brunette as he could when outright avoidance was impossible. This was a task that River Tam had been all too willing to help Jayne with, since the reader usually liked to keep to herself. Then, when River had slashed Jayne's chest with a kitchen knife sometime later, and Jayne had retaliated by trying to sell the Tams out to the Alliance, the mercenary was convinced he had finally created a large enough rift between him and the Tams that River would avoid him entirely. But to Jayne's great surprise, even that event, and his subsequent attempts to get River off Serenity after the Alliance started hijacking River's mind somehow, could not dissuade the young woman from socializing with Jayne on occasion. Nor could the merc's attempts to distance himself from the "reader" keep River out of Jayne's very vivid dreams. Dreams which were tainted by guilt over Jayne's multiple betrayals of River and her older brother.

Then, ever since River had told Jayne she had forgiven him for all his transgressions against her and Simon, the way that the mercenary and the gifted young woman interacted with each other had dramatically changed. Jayne just wasn't sure that was a good thing. True, it was kind of nice that he and the "psychic" were starting to get along better now, and it certainly helped Jayne's conscience some to know that he had been forgiven for several of his bad deeds. Even so, over the last week, River had decided to spend a lot more of her time around Jayne since that strange conversation between them at the villa's bar, and that was becoming a problem for Jayne. With the reader spending more time around him, and unburdened by feelings of guilt towards her person, those old feelings the mercenary had felt towards River since he first laid eyes on her had returned with a vengeance, and Jayne had already caught himself staring at the brunette for several seconds too long on a few occasions, Adding to these troubles was River's returning sanity, which was making the young woman seem much more approachable, a factor compounded by River's flirtatious behavior towards his own person.

In short, the changes that occurred over the last week concerning how the mercenary and the reader were interacting freaked Jayne out, as these changes had increased Jayne's desires for a person he had always known he couldn't, nay, shouldn't have. And Jayne's dreams now contained visions of things the mercenary had never consciously allowed himself to hope for: like a relationship with the hazel-eyed young woman that would last for longer than the mercenary's usual one-night stands with women. And that made Jayne very nervous.

So Jayne had pushed River away, using the brunette's new mannerisms (that did, in fact, freak Jayne out a bit), which came from her returning sanity, as an excuse to do so. Apparently, Jayne reflected sourly, he had pushed River right into his younger brother's arms. And as much as the mercenary tried to tell himself that he should be fine with that, that he should be relieved that River was pining over someone else now, someone who, by most accounts, including Jayne's own, was a much better person than his elder brother, and closer to River's age besides, Jayne wasn't okay with River's flirtatious behavior towards Mattie. Not at all.

Jayne grunted and quickly tucked himself into bed and turned off the light, then he quietly muttered to himself. "Stop being so gorram stupid about this! It's better this way! Now the crazy girl won't be distracting you no more, and Mattie can finally get laid again for the first time in..." But the mercenary couldn't even finish that sentence, and Jayne had to quickly push that mental image out of his head before it made him throw up. Still, the mercenary told himself, it was stupid to be jealous of Mattie over something as trivial as flirting now that his younger brother was well enough to walk around again for at least short periods of time. And even if he was a little jealous of his younger brother, it must be because most of the crew of Serenity had instantly liked Mattie, when it had taken years for some of the crew to find Jayne even remotely tolerable. It definitely wasn't because Mattie had flirted with some stupid girl.

After all, Jayne though to himself before sleep finally claimed him over an hour later, he would have to be crazier than the youngest Tam herself had ever been to be in love with River.

 **AN: Hello again, readers! First of all, I'd like to thank you all for your continuing support of my story. I would especially like to thank Hawki, galwidanatitud, , and bjq for reviewing my last chapter!**

 **Sorry that you had to wait this long for a new chapter but a combination of RL stuff, technical difficulties, and a bad case of writer's block prevented me from posting this sooner. Also, I have been wrestling with what direction I want to take some of the characters in this story, knowing that no matter what I do, I will probably be disappointing some of you with the direction I take. However, I eventually decided to go with the story direction, and character pairing, I have been leaning towards for a while now (some of you reading this chapter can probably guess were I'm going with this). Unfortunately, since I am sort of new writing for this fandom, I am not sure if I pulled off the shipping elements in this chapter off well. So please, be honest in your feedback for this chapter, and let me know if there are aspects of any of these characters I am portraying incorrectly. But any feedback you all could give on this chapter would be appreciated.**

 **And finally, a big thank you goes out to my beta-reader! Without your encouragement, I probably wouldn't have even had the courage to write a story for this complex fandom, so thanks again for your help and encouragement!**

 **Until next time, I am...**

 **-supercode**


	8. Rogues pt 1

The next three days were full of novelty and some excitement for most of the cast of "Walking Alongside the Tams." Although the elder Tams and the crew of Serenity (sans Jayne) had initially been suspicious of the newcomer to the villa, Mattie quickly won over the other cast members with his intelligence and charm. Before long, everyone on the set had warmed up to the younger Cobb sibling, with his stories of his and Jayne's days growing up on Beowulf, such as the time that "Me and Jayne climbed the tallest tree in town, and this lumbering giant here fell and broke his arm", his proficiency for games (he was one of the few people that could give River a challenge when playing either chess or Chinese checkers, although he had yet to beat the brunette at either game), and his affinity for listening to, and memorizing, the things others said around him. All of these factors, combined with the simple novelty of having someone new to spend time with, made everyone of the cast members quickly warm up to their newest member, who had been all-but cured of his damp lung within forty eight hours of his arrival at the villa.

Ironically, the only one who wasn't having fun during this period of time (other than, occasionally, Inara, who was now starting to throw up occasionally and lose weight as a side effect of her treatments) was Jayne Cobb, since the arrival of his younger brother to the Villa was causing...problems for the mercenary. Oh, Jayne was glad to see his younger brother again, sure enough. And the older brother was thrilled that Mattie had finally been cured of the affliction that had brought his brother nothing but suffering for years, thanks to the doctors Tam. Even if it greatly annoyed the merc that he now owed doctor fancy pants, and his even stuffier and more annoying father, for curing his younger brother's damp lung. But despite all of these recent positive developments, Mattie's presence in the villa had been a cause of frustration for Jayne, and the larger man's jealousy of his younger brother grew as he noticed that even his fellow crew members, especially a certain hazel eyed young woman, now saw fit to spend more of their time around the younger brother than they did around Jayne. And that didn't sit well with the mercenary at all.

Jayne grunted as he thought about his stupid, irrational jealousy of his brother, as the man lifted weights in the villa's gym. The older Cobb brother knew he should have been used to this by now. Mattie had always been the favorite child in the Cobb family, after all (although both ma and pa Cobb had the good graces not to say so out loud). Mattie's wit had earned him praise from his parents, who both believed that the younger brother would go on to do "great things someday", while his status as the youngest male Cobb, and his natural charm, had won him the near constant attention of his elder siblings, and girls in his age-group, respectfully Furthermore, Jayne's brighter, more articulate sibling had always had more friends than the mercenary. But up until now, none of these facts had bothered Jayne much. As far as the mercenary was concerned, people liked Mattie. That was just the way it was, and there was no use worrying about it.

But something about the crew members of Serenity liking Mattie more than they liked Jayne got underneath the mercenary's skin. And no matter how much the mercenary tried to push the ugly thought out of his mind, Mattie's older brother couldn't shake the idea, that just wasn't fair, Jayne had spent months, and in many cases, years, interacting with every member of Serenity's crew. Jayne had pulled jobs for the captain, getting shot up, beaten, stabbed, burned by lasers, temporarily paralyzed by a neck injury, etc., all while watching his fellow crew members backs, and sometimes even saving their lives in the process. He had been the crew's pack mule whenever any jobs required heavy lifting, and he had aided in "aggressive negotiations" with crime bosses and street vendors on more than one occasion, helping insure that Mal and his crew got the most money possible from jobs, and got merchandise at a fair price using the power of his intimidating stature. And yeah, Jayne had been paid to do all of those things.

However, the merc had not been paid to help Kaylee in the engine room when she needed a strong pair of hands, nor to help his fellow crew members reach items in high places that they could have easily gotten themselves with a stepladder Nor had he been paid to do River's chores around the ship whenever the captain had scheduled the young woman to do so on days where the captain's little albatross had been too whimsical in the brain pan to do them herself, and Simon was busy in the infirmary. Sure, Jayne had grumbled about it when River's chores where unloaded onto him for this reason, but the large man had still done them. Even River herself had acknowledged the selflessness of that fact when she had thanked the mercenary once for "doing my shiply duties when I was chasing away shadows."

Unfortunately, Jayne now felt that none of the work he had done on board Serenity on the crew's behalf was even being acknowledged, ever since Mattie had showed up at the villa and the crew had taken a shine to his younger brother. However, under ordinary circumstances, Jayne would have been able to shrug off his irritation at Serenity's crew. After all, Serenity's resident "muscle" was used to blending into the background during negotiations and numerous other events, unless his services were needed, and on occasion, Jayne even liked it that way. It just meant he wouldn't be forced to talk more than he wanted to. But this time was different. Because this time, River Tam had joined the other members of Serenity's crew in ignoring Jayne in favor of socializing with Mattie. And for the first time, since he had met the girl, Jayne realized that had never happened before.

In the past, even during one of her crazy spells, River had always showed signs of being aware of Jayne's presence when the mercenary was in the same room with her. Whether the reader did so by talking or "interacting" (Jayne had nightmares about the times that the gifted young woman had slashed his chest with a kitchen knife for months afterward) with the mercenary directly, looking at the the big man (often using her peripherals or glaring straight at Serenity's muscle) or by speaking to him in the third person ("The big man should remember that she can kill him with her brain if he turns coat again"), River had always acknowledged Jayne's presence in one way or another. Even, when Jayne thought about it, on days when the reader was unable, or unwilling, to pay attention to anyone else on the ship. In fact, the mercenary had inadvertently brought River out of many of her breaks from reality in the past, as the mere act of Jayne walking into the room could usually cause River to remember where and when she was. With a few exceptions, after the Alliance had "reactivated" her programming after the maidenhead. True, Jayne had always attributed River's constant awareness of his presence as a sign that she found him untrustworthy, his large form intimidating, and that the young woman's constant attention of his person was simply an act of self-preservation, to make sure that Jayne did not harm her in any way, especially after Ariel. But still, Jayne was now forced to admit that he liked the fact that, even when the animosity between River and himself had been at it's height, the moon-brained girl had never ignored him the way that Jayne's other fellow crew members sometimes did. Until now, that is.

Now, when River wasn't spending time with Kaylee and Inara, or her family members, the bulk of the young woman's attention was now focused on Mattie. More than once, Jayne had entered a room to find the (former?) reader laughing at one of Mattie's joke's ("Oh Mattie, you're so funny!"), listening with rapt attention to the younger brother's stories, beating Mattie's pi gu at one game or another ("Checkmate! I win again! Would you like to play another game?!). She even awkwardly flirted with the younger man with her creepifying smiles and/or batting her eyelashes quickly for such a long time, a person might think the reader was trying to use them as a fan. Half the time that Jayne walked into the room when River was talking to the younger Cobb, the young woman would look briefly in Jayne's direction, then proceed to ignore him unless the mercenary spoke to her directly. Other times, the mercenary wouldn't even be able to get that out of River, and the brunette would ignore him entirely, keeping her attention squarely on the younger Cobb, unless Jayne directly addressed her.

Adding all of these states of affairs was the worrisome fact that River now only spoke to Jayne when the mercenary addressed her first, and even then, usually in short, one or two-word answers, like "Yes. No. Over there." In short, River was now ignoring him, and it looked like Mattie was the cause. And even though the merc could take a lot of things, like fighting pirates or Reavers, or even being locked in a mansion and being forced to share his private thoughts with the the entire 'Verse, there was something about River ignoring Jayne while acting like his youngest brother was the shiniest thing in the 'Verse, that made his blood boil, for reasons that the mercenary really didn't want to think about. Now, after three days of constant aggravation, frustration, and sleepless nights plagued by visions of River making doe eyes at Mattie that wouldn't give the mercenary any peace, even when he was lifting weights in order to try to regain some semblance of calm, Jayne had enough. The large man grimaced as he finished his last rep of extremely heavy weights that morning, and Jayne Cobb got up from the bench as quickly as his sore muscles would allow, as he stomped off towards the room of the woman who had been the primary source of most of his problems for over a week.

Jayne passed a few people on the way to the crazy girl's room. Malcolm and Inara were in the living room, arguing, as usual. "Gorram, Inara! I told you, the wig looks fine!" Jayne had to suppress a snort at how untrue that statement was, as the makeshift wig that Malcolm had made for the ex-companion. when her hair had started failing out, slightly resembled a skunk. But the mercenary feared Malcolm's anger, and Inara's tears, if he spoke his piece on the matter, so the large man said nothing. Nor did he try to interfere when he saw Reagan Tam and Kaylee in a hallway, discussing some matter or other. Jayne only caught a few words of the conversation, something about "...why's he's been so slow to give his approval." Even so, the mercenary noted the dismayed look on the mechanic's face and made a mental note to talk to the girl about whatever the elder Tam had said to the younger woman to put her on the edge of tears. Because Jayne did not hold kindly to anyone who hurt Kaylee, even if it was just the mechanic's feelings. And the mercenary, for all his toughness and bravado, never did like to see a woman cry.

Jayne pushed this thought to the side, however, when her finally reached River's bedroom door. The mercenary then proceeded to take a deep breath and raised his hand to knock...only to be surprised when the gifted young woman's door opened before Jayne's fist could make contact with wood. The merc was momentarily taken aback by River's disheveled appearance as he noted that she had bags under her eyes, the brunette's hair was disheveled, and she wasn't wearing any shoes. In short, she looked just like her old, crazy self all over again. Before Jayne could dwell on this, however, the subject of his musings started to speak. "Couldn't sleep last night. I was taking a nap. She...I am sorry for my appearance."

Jayne shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I've seen you in worse sorts before." The mercenary gulped, then opened his mouth to speak. "Look, girl...I mean, River. There's something that's been on my mind. That I...er...wanted to talk to you about, and I..." The mercenary shook his head, only just now realizing that he had no plan concerning how to go about having a conversation with River about clearing up the awkwardness between him, River and Mattie, that Jayne was sure was the culprit for his fogged up brain and ornery mood. 'Well, you better say something, Jayne. Because if you just keep babbling like a moon brain, River's going to think that you're just as whimsical in the brain-pan as she used to be!'

Before Jayne could get out another word however, River smiled slightly and beat the mercenary to it as she let the man into her room. "She knows why the man they call Jayne is here. His thoughts are loud today. Woke her up."

Jayne nodded as he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. "How did you...I mean, I thought after all of those fancy treatments your brother and father were giving you, your...erm, abilities went..."

River shook her head . "My abilities are diminished, but not gone. Not entirely. And she..."

The reader shook her head. "Correct pronoun use is important now. Must remember to use the right ones. I...am still able to hear your thoughts. When they are loud."

Seeing Jayne's nonplussed look, River rolled her eyes and added. "When you are...upset. Or excited. Or anxious...I can still hear your thoughts. As long as the albatross is..."

River shook her head and flicked her right index finger against her forehead. "As long as I am listening for them."

Jayne's eyes widened, but the mercenary didn't allow himself any other non-verbal reaction as he spoke. "Oh, so when a person is ornery, or happy, or worried, you can still hear their thoughts. How much did you..."

River huffed. "He is not listening!"

The brunette paced around her room a few times, and Jayne made sure to stay out of the dangerous young woman's way until she finally stopped still in the middle of the room, looked right at the mercenary, and said. "No. I can only hear your thoughts. And only when I'm listening for them. I can only get vague impressions of other people's thoughts now. Fleeting glimpses of their feelings. But I can still read your thoughts when your moods are intense. If I am listening for them, that is."

Jayne grimaced. The mercenary was torn as to whether he should express surprise, at the revelation that River could read his thoughts, and his thoughts alone, or anger, now that he realized River had been purposely rutting around in his mind. But the brunette in question spoke before Jayne could voice any of these thoughts. "She and he...You and I are connected. Have been since the day you first saw me in that status pod..." River grinned. "I knew what you were thinking when you saw me naked."

The reader shook her head and sighed, but resumed speaking before Jayne could get a word in. "Also remember what you felt right after. Shame. Guilt. That I was too young, too crazy, too dangerous for you to think about me that way. Thought you weren't good enough for me, too. So you avoided me. Tried not to think about me. And when you couldn't...stop thinking of me as a woman, you tried to get rid of me, more than once..."

Jayne looked down at the floor. "River, I'm..."

River frowned. "No interrupting! I need to finish what I'm saying! I already told you I forgave you, Jayne. For betraying me and Simon, for trying to sell me back to the Alliance, for all of it! Even the things he...You don't know. The way your angry thoughts kept bouncing around my head like silver balls in ancient machines, your conflicting emotions when you were around me clouding my thoughts, threatening to swallow her mind whole until she lashed out, making his outside as red as his angry thoughts. "

Jayne's eyes widened after River revealed the reason (although Jayne knew reason probably had very little to do with the matter) that River had slashed his chest almost a year ago, even as the psychic kept speaking with her eyes down. "And she knows he forgave her for that, but she is still sorry. She...I just...I didn't have as much control of my abilities then, and I couldn't handle it when your thoughts towards me became hostile enough to hurt me here." River tapped her forehead, then the portion of her chest which was right over her heart. "And here. Because I couldn't block out your thoughts back then. Even for a minute. Could block out the others for a while, even Simon's thoughts, sometimes, but never yours. So she hurt him. Made things worse. Made him angry. Made him try to send her away. And that made her sad and angry at him."

Jayne just stood there, looking like a deer in the headlights when the waterworks started. But River kept right on talking through her sobs. "I'm sorry I invaded your thoughts. Went inside your head, where I wasn't wanted. But I can still feel it when you are sad or angry. Even when I don't want to. And I needed to know why you were upset. I just...I had to know what was causing it. so I could know how to make you stop feeling bad."

Jayne shook his head. "Look, girl..." At the angry look the brunette gave him, Jayne sighed and amended his words. "River. The past is in the past, and there's no use worrying none about it. Also, I'm a gorram grown Pi gu man! I don't need you worrying none over what I'm thinking, or feeling, or whatever. If it bothers you when I get upset, I'll try to take it down a notch, but I can't make no promises on that score. As far as any..." Jayne gulped. "Thoughts I may have had about you that you don't like, especially in my bunk, and when I'm dreaming...I meant no offense to you, but a man should be able to think what he likes in the privacy of his own..."

River's tears turned to laughter then, causing Jayne to snarl. "What?!What's so gorram funny?! I don't find this here situation the least bit humor..."

River dried her eyes quickly, then looked right at Jayne with a serious look in her eye. "You are such a boob! What made you think your nocturnal fantasies about me were unwanted?!"

Jayne's jaw did, slightly, drop then. "What?!"

River shook her head. "The girl thought of him when she slept too. Sometimes before she slept as well, on nights the weapon could remember she was woman, and she could get away from her overbearing watch dog for five minutes..."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Jayne couldn't suppress a short bit of laughter at that particular description of one Simon Tam, and River rewarded the mercenary's chuckle with a small smirk before she continued speaking. While she resumed pacing around the room. "She dreamt of him...I mean, I dreamt of you, too. Sometimes, without meaning too, she slipped into his dreams too, but only when...you were already dreaming of me."

Jayne slowly started backing away towards the door, but the man quickly realized this move had been anticipated when he noticed that River had stopped her pacing right in front of said bedroom door, and that the young woman was now grinning like the loon she apparently still was as she looked at Jayne. The large man growled. "You had no business rutting around in my dreams..."

River shook her head. "You're still not listening. I said I didn't do it on purpose. Involuntary."

The anger in Jayne's eyed died, and was replaced by nervousness as the mercenary scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. You did say that, didn't you? Still, there was stuff in there that a chil...someone as...you know, proper, as yourself shouldn't have had to see. And you shouldn't be thinking of me like that, either. I know what kind of man I am..."

River shook her head rapidly. "I'm not proper. And you don't know who you are. You still think you are the man who dropped Stitch out of that transport on Higgins' Moon. The same man who betrayed me and Simon on Ariel. A man who would sell out his best friends for money. And you are wrong."

The reader looked meaningfully at Jayne. "The man they call Jayne isn't that man any more. He's learned from his mistakes. Changed. He wouldn't betray me, or anyone else on his crew, ever again. Nor would he turn his back on his friends. Not for all the money in the 'Verse. He proved that on Miranda, then again on Mr. Universe's satellite. I trust him."

Jayne snarled. "Then you're a fool. You can't trust anyone in this 'Verse who ain't your family. My pa told me that when I only stood up to his knee."

River glared defiantly back at Jayne, but then relented with a shrug. "Your father's words are true. But you know as well as I do that family doesn't end in blood. That's why you trust the captain, and Kaylee. And that's why I trust everyone of Serenity's crew, including you. We've all been through fire and flood together, and came back closer, stronger for it."

This time, it was Jayne who looked away from River. "I can't argue with that. And I guess after you saved my Pi gu at Mr. Universe's place from all them Reavers...I trust you too. And I guess your right when you figure that I wouldn't sell you or Simon out again, or Kaylee, or the captain. But you still got no business thinking of a hwen dan like me, like...well, like them core boys you should rightfully be ogling at."

River smirked. "Those ja hwo couldn't handle her. They aren't strong enough, or stubborn enough, like you are. Besides, I...I liked the dreams we've shared together. But she...I would like to know whether it feels as good in real life..."

Jayne backed away from River, and the large man was now terrified of the dainty young woman slowly taking steps for his person, although this was a completely different type of fear than what the merc was used to feeling towards the brunette's person. "I...What are you talking about?"

River smiled. "Oh, he knows what she is referring to. Rutting. Fooling around. Doing the gorram thing. Coitus. You know..."

The psychic's grin widened in triumph once Jayne had backed himself against her bed just as River was concluding her thought. "Sex."

Jayne tried to sidestep to River's right, but the young woman followed his movements. So the mercenary feinted to the brunette's left...only to be find River, still smiling, moving in tandem with him, so she still stood in front of the large man when he had stopped moving. "What are you doing?!"

River's smile widened, and only now did Jayne realize that this grin seemed natural and unforced as its owner spoke. "What he suggested. I want you, and flirting like Inara and Kaylee told me to wasn't working. So I'm just going to take you."

Jayne felt trapped as River's lips darted towards his own, and the mercenary wrestled with his conscience in vain as he told himself he should be pushing River away from him. Running like hell. Something other than just standing here and letting the confused, innocent-minded girl in front of him kiss him, then have her way with him. But somehow, looking into River's hazel eyes, feeling her lips so agonizingly close to his own, Jayne couldn't force himself to move an inch. So instead, the mercenary said the first thing that came to his mind. "What about Mattie? Won't he be upset by this?!"

River rolled her eyes and laughed. "I was flirting with him to make you jealous. And he went along with it because I asked him to when he first arrived. Your brother is a friend, but he talks to much for my liking, he doesn't take losing at games well, and his thoughts are drawn out, winding. Not like yours. Your thoughts are...simpler."

Jayne snorted. "Thanks for that." The mercenary did step around River then, and he was halfway to the door before River darted ahead of him, stopping the large man in his tracks. River rolled her eyes. "She does not mean he is stupid. His...your thoughts are usually more straightforward about where you are, what you are doing. Not bogged down in past or future. Not cluttered with introspection."

At the nonplussed look on Jayne's face, River rolled her eyes and clarified. "Most people are wrapped up in thinking about themselves a lot. But not you. You only think about what you are doing at the moment. What the mission calls for. And your immediate needs. Rest. Hunger. Thirst..."

River's smile widened as she started walking towards Jayne again, and the mercenary was once more backing away when the brunette added. "And sex. She is willing to help him with that one. But she will take no coin from him, and she will not leave him alone in a cold bed when they are done. She is not a doxy. She wants to be his mate."

Jayne throat felt dangerously dry. "Um...River? Why are you being so forward all the sudden and talking like you're moon-brained again, anyhow?"

River sighed deeply. "Why does he not listen and waste so much time when they should be rutting?! Like she...I said, your thoughts are louder than normal. Winding. Complicated. We...You are tied in knots because you want me and think you can't have me. But he can. Girl became woman after Miranda, and she is willing to be his partner. To give him what he wants, but doesn't allow himself to hope for. His reluctance and guilt are unnecessary, only muddling both their minds. His dark thoughts are like lead, weighing the Albatross down..."

Something about the sad look in River's eyes made Jayne stop backing away from her, and the brunette ran her hand across Jayne's beard for several seconds before the muscular man could bring himself to pull away. "She wants to free him.. to free herself."

Jayne quickly, but gently snatched River's hand and lowered it to her side, although the mercenary was well aware he was only able to do so because River allowed it. "If your thoughts are confused, we shouldn't do this. Hell, we shouldn't do this at all, if you don't want Zoe or the captain shooting me, or your brother dissecting me alive the next time I end up on his operating table."

River shook her head. "She would never allow..."

Jayne spoke over the young woman. "And even if they didn't, what kind of Feh Feh Pi Goh would I be if I took advantage of you when you're still moon-brained, huh? As soon as your treatments are done, and you're all shiny and sane, you'll see that..."

River raised her right eyebrow. "She...I will not be continuing treatment. I told my father and Simon this morning."

The brunette lowered her eyes towards the floor. "They are both still upset with her. Say she will regress without additional implants. Go crazy again. But she...I would not let them continue. It's my brain. My choice."

Jayne shook his head. "What? What would you go and do a gorram thing like that for? Do you want to be crazy again?!"

River shook her head. "No. But she...I want to be whole. Without her wings, the albatross can't fly like she was meant to..." Seeing Jayne's face, River sighed and clarified. "You were right when you implied I was...less now than I once was. "

Jayne shook his head. "I didn't know what I was saying, River. I was just creeped out that you were flirting and acting like a normal girl rather than your old, creepifying self. That don't mean I didn't want you to be sane or nothing. So don't do a fool thing like stopping your treatments on my account."

River shook her head. "She is not doing this for him, only pointing out that he was right about her being better before. She stopped treatments for herself. I didn't want to be confined to my own space, I cannot read the thoughts and intentions of others, and I am liable to misread situations. And without my gifts, I am stuck in the present, past and future are unclear. She knows this is dangerous, although she is not longer sure why. Besides, Simon said that Alliance programming is already wiped clean, and I am likely to keep a small portion of my cognitive gains from treatment, with a 78% probability of regaining my old abilities over time, if I end treatments now."

Seeing the uncertain look in Jayne's eyes, River quickly added. "This is her choice. The man they call Jayne does not need to feel guilty, or hesitate in acting on his urges with her. She is as sane as she is ever going to get, and she chooses him of her own free will..."

Something about the fiery look in River's eyes rendered Jayne powerless to River's charms this time, as they reader's lips ascended towards his own, and all the mercenary could say in protest was, "you know I don't kiss girls on the mouth" even as his lips prepared to do just that. But the attempt at osculation was interrupted by a loud sound originating somewhere in the distance.

BOOOM!

Jayne's mind immediately snapped into combat mode, and all of his anxiety and confusion melted away as the mercenary prepared to do what he did best. After wordlessly leading River to his own room, the man quickly backed away from River and turned towards the bed, tipping the mattress off his bed and reaching under the posts as he did so. "That was an explosion! It sounded like it came from one of the walls at the edge of the compound. Something about this gorram TV show must be severely pissing some people off! Can you get a read on who those Wang Ba Da might be!?"

River shook her head as her eyes widened to an almost unnatural extent. "No. I'm sorry. My abilities are still severely diminished and..."

Jayne shrugged, ignoring sounds of gunfire and the cast's bodyguards' screams. "It probably don't make a difference no how. There are people out there who want to kill us, probably, and if we want to fight back, we need weapons. Starting with this one..." The mercenary dug through his pack, brushing past multiple personal items, including some letters from his ma, his banjo, a half-finished wood carving, and his lucky hat, before he finally found the item he was looking for a pulled out a large, jagged hunting knife with a grin on his face. "I knew it was a good idea to pay off one of Niska's goons to let me keep this. Course' I was hoping that I would only be needing it for wood carving, but..."

Jayne's eyes widened as River pulled out a smaller blade, with a sleeker design and a sharper tip, from her dress, then smiled. "It is best to be prepared. She agrees. Feared they would come for her again. She wanted to be ready this time."

Jayne mentally screened out the sounds of some of the camera crew and bodyguards; screaming, and even Malcolm Reynolds screaming out, "What's going on?!" and "We need to get out of here!" as he waited by the door, listening for an opportune moment to sneak out of his room. "How did you sneak that knife in anyhow? I know that brother of yours usually don't let you handle money, and they searched us mighty thoroughly before Niska's men let us on the ship bound for the villa."

River grinned, but the fiery look in her eyes made Jayne shudder in all kinds of different ways, as the young woman whispered back. "The girl still has her secrets."

The psychic quietly strode towards the bedroom door, only stopping when Jayne raised his arm to stop her advance. The hazel-eyed woman rolled her eyes. "I don't think they are in this hall now. Niska's men are good shots, and dedicated to their profession. Perhaps the last one standing killed the remaining hostiles in the hallway before succumbing to his wounds."

Jayne looked incredulously at River. "How would you know a gorram thing like that?! I thought you said you were barely a reader right now?!"

River frowned. "Barely a reader means she is still a reader. I can't hear the thoughts, or feel the feelings, of most people anymore. But I can still sense the presence of people nearby. There is no one on the the other side of that door. For now."

Jayne nodded, pulling his arm away from River before he opened the door to the hallway, only allowing the brunette to follow after he saw for himself that there was no one on the other side. No one alive, that is. River forced the bile in her throat back, even as Jayne relieved several of the corpses, composed of both a handful of Niska's bodyguards, and half a dozen other dead bodies wearing black body armor, of some of their weapons. Jayne quickly noted the absence of any film crew corpses, but rationalized that they must have been in another part of the house, or had already escaped.

Under other circumstances, the mercenary would have been jubilant when he discovered that one of Niska's men had an assault rifle, and several rounds of ammunition for said rifle, and he might have even hollered with joy when he found that one of the black armored individuals had several grenades on his person that he had evidently never gotten the chance to use. But given the seriousness of the situation, Jayne Cobb only allowed himself a small smile before he turned back to River, who was still starring in horror at all the dead bodies around her. "Are you going to be alright, little one? Maybe you should try to hide somewhere until all of this blows over. After all, you don't got that Alliance brainwashing in your head to help you fight no more and..."

Jayne stopped mid sentence to raise his gun at the dark-armored individual who had just rounded the corner and walked into the hallway behind River, but the brunette whirled around faster than the merc could blink and stabbed the hostile right in the throat, then grabbed the dying man's assault rifle out of his hand before the man chocking on his own blood could even hit the floor. River shook her head, then looked directly at Jayne. "She can still handle herself. Muscle remembers what mind has forgotten. And her ears still work fine."

Seeing that it was taking all of River's strength just to hold the unusually large assault rifle in her hands properly, Jayne picked up several more ammo clips for the brunette's new gun and strapped them on his own person. "Okay. But you follow my lead. Mattie's safe in the infirmary, sleeping off his last round of post-treatment for his damp lung, but we need to get to the others. Mal probably already has a plan to get us the hell out of here. Or Zoe." The muscular man nodded towards River's new gun. "Do you know how to use that thing?"

Just as that last word had left Jayne's mouth, two more black armored hostiles entered the hallway, one behind River, and the other behind Jayne. The two goons never knew what hit them as the mercenary and the reader quickly fired rounds into the heads of the black armored individuals behind each other. River's face was a stoic mask after that, but Jayne could have sworn that the psychic was somehow smirking at him with her eyes before the mercenary said. "Alright then. Follow me."

River nodded wordlessly before she and Jayne walked down the eerily silent hallway, checking every one of the rooms for living occupants as they did so. At first, Jayne was confused when he realized that all of the rooms were empty and disheveled, until River silently pointed to the bodies of several of the dead mercenaries in this section of the hallway. The mercenary quickly realized what River was pointing out to him, or rather, the lack of something that the reader was pointing out. None of the corpses from either mercenary team had weapons on them anymore, and many of them were no longer wearing body armor as well. "I get it. Mal and the others were here, but they decided to leave after another firefight broke out, taking some of the fools' weapons and armor with them."

River nodded. "They probably went to the rendezvous point. They will be waiting for us there with Mattie."

"I can't believe they would just leave use like this! And.."

Jayne stopped talking when he saw the stairway leading down to the main living area of the estate, noting that many bodies, both Niska's men and the black clad mercenaries, were scattered all the way down. Jayne's eyes widened when he noticed two trails of blood that began near the bottom of the stairway, which continued all the way to the now open front door of the mansion. River and Jayne exchanged a knowing look, and it was clear that both of them had realized that their friends and family members had left the mansion while running (and most likely, gunning) for their lives, and at least two of their number had been injured. "Oh hell, let's just get to the infirmary!"

River nodded before she and Jayne walked right down the stairs and out of the mansion, completely bypassing the discarded weapons they couldn't carry, and the sets of body armor that the mercenary and the psychic were too big and too small, respectfully, to wear as they set off toward the agreed upon meeting point if, as Malcolm Reynolds had so eloquently put it over a week ago. "The go se hits the fan!" Unfortunately, the mercs in black did not make this easy for them.

Although the mercenary and the psychic were able to avoid the half dozen hostiles at the front door, as River wordlessly pointed to a side entrance instead, and she and Jayne were able to slip out of the mansion relatively unnoticed, they ran into more opponents on the way to the Villa. However, it was clear that none of them were on River or Jayne's level. Especially when they were helping each other.

Somehow, Jayne noted, even though he and River had never fought together before, or hell, done much of anything together before arriving at the Villa, working towards the infirmary with the crazy girl came surprisingly easy for him. Other than a single misstep, when River had somehow failed to notice a couple of guards that the mercenary heard coming around the corner, and Jayne had to hold the young woman back so she wouldn't walk right in front of them, the reader didn't miss a beat. Having wordlessly decided (for Jayne had been sure to think this loud enough for River to hear him) to avoid engaging hostiles whenever possible until they knew their enemies numbers, the tracker and the psychic used their respective skills to avoid as many skirmishes as possible, And they were largely successful at doing so, despite the fact that the two crew members had counted at least twenty bogies on their way to the infirmary. However, since their unknown enemies forces were scattered all over the villa, Jayne and River had been forced to undergo one gunfight just before reaching the medical building, as well as the shuttle pad that was right on top of said building

After spotting the half dozen hostiles around the infirmary at the same time, Jayne motioned towards his left, then nodded his head towards the right. River half smiled in understanding as she quickly gunned down the closest enemy to her right just a fraction of a second faster than Jayne did the same to the closest enemy to his left. However, it was Jayne who spotted the small object that another hostile had thrown down between him and River, and the tracker quickly jumped into an unoccupied building while shouting "Grenade!"

BOOM!

Jayne sighed in relief when he poked his head out of the now-broken building window, and saw River walk out from behind a set of steel shipping containers while simultaneously shooting all of the remaining hostiles until they fell down, using a grenade that Jayne gave her to finish off the last two with a loud BOOM! After he had quickly exited the abandoned building with his gun drawn, then looked around for possible hostiles, the mercenary lowered his weapon and turned to River. "Good job."

River just smiled and nodded. However, the smug look on the young woman's face vanished when an angry look came across Jayne's face, and the man raised his hunting knife towards her. River's confusion was short lived, however, as she dove to the left and landed on all fours as gracefully as a cat...while Jayne simultaneously threw his knife at a seven foot tall, black armored individual with a machete who had dared to sneak behind River

"AAAAH!" The armored individual let out one last scream as he fell to the ground, Jayne's hunting knife still sticking out of his left eye. The forward momentum that the aggressor had built up trying to lunge at River with his weapon was not canceled out by Jayne's attack, so the attacker was still falling forward after receiving his severe wound. As a consequence, Jayne and River's attacker landed face first onto the ground with a loud thud, driving the blade deeper into the hole in his skull where his eye used to be, right into his brain. In short, the attacker was dead the second he hit the ground.

River sighed after she rose to her bare feet, then attempted to retrieve Jayne's knife, and Jane smiled as he noted that River had certainly gotten over her disgust at the sight of freshly dead bodies in a hurry. Serenity's "public relations officer" chuckled. "Don't bother, moon-brain. The knife went in at a weird angle. You aren't ever going to get Brutus there out of that Hwen Dan's thick skull."

River huffed as she let the knife go, silently conceding Jayne's point before she whispered. "Brutus. According to history, that was the name of a public official on earth-that was who killed Caesar, a local ruler he had sworn his allegiance to, for the sin of overthrowing the republic he had born into, and turning it into his own personal kingdom. And he did it with a knife. A strange name for a mercenaries blade. A strange male name."

Jayne shrugged. "Hell, I didn't know all that history or nothing. I just heard it was the name of some guy who stabbed a tyrant in the back a long time ago. Seemed like the kind of guy I would buy a beer for, you know? And the name sounded like a cunning title for a blade...all of which I've given male names, by the way. Now, if we're done jawing about like little girls at a slumber party, can we please get to the infirmary before we both end up dead?"

River glared at Jayne as he passed her, handing her a new clip of ammo for her assault rifle as he did so, but followed the large man's lead as they slowly walked the rest of the way to the infirmary. When the young woman and her fellow crew-member were finally in sight of the small, two story medical center, the latter allowed himself to relax a little bit as he whispered to River. "So...whatever happened to that Brutus guy anyway?"

River looked at Jayne's curious eyes, so full of mirth, and she was briefly temped to lie to the mercenary. But, knowing that Jayne didn't appreciate being coddled, the psychic opted for brutal honesty instead. "Caesar's nephew and his generals hunted down Brutus and his fellow conspirators. They died, badly. And for centuries, the name Brutus became synonymous with betrayal."

Jayne gulped. "Okay. Maybe that wasn't such a good name for a knife..."

BANG!

Jayne felt the blood gushing out of the hole in his stomach, and the man's right hand felt the red, sticky substance that was slowly covering his shirt, several seconds before his nerve endings registered any pain from the bullet wound. But when the pain came, it was excruciating, and the large mercenary couldn't focus on anything else, including River's screaming, as the brunette launched herself forward just in time to slow Jayne's descent to ground enough that he didn't hit his head and die on impact. Nor did Jayne register the presence of a familiar sandy blonde vixen and her smoking gun as he tried and failed to hold back screams of agony. And the mercenary didn't hear the blonde woman speak directly to the brunette holding Jayne's head in her hands as River struggled to hold back tears. "Nice to finally meet you, River Tam. You can call me Saffron, like your crew of morons did. I'm afraid you're going to have to come with me..."

 **AN: Once again, I would like to thank all of my readers who are still reading this story, especially those of you who have given me input on this tale using reviews and/or PM. A special thanks goes out to bjq, Wicked. Onna, and galwidanatitud for reviewing my last chapter! Your encouragement and input is much appreciated!**

 **A couple points to mention here. I would like to note that the historical references concerning Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger here are not 100% historically accurate. But considering the spotty record keeping of the history of earth-that was that is made evident throughout the Firefly series, I thought it would make sense that this would be the version of the "Assassination of Julius Caesar" story that was passed down throughout the 'Verse. Also, some of you may have noticed that I have moved away from my earlier negative evaluation of Rayne, but that is no guarantee to my readers that Rayne will be the end game of this story. Especially if Jayne dies. Take that as you will.**

 **And, as always, an extra special thanks goes out to my beta-reader, without whom, I wouldn't have the confidence to publish any stories on this site! Your help is both necessary, and appreciated!**

 **Until next time, I am...**

 **...supercode**

 **P.S. Sorry about the cliffhanger. Or am I...?**


	9. Rogues pt2

"Jao Gao."

Malcolm Reynolds looked at the distance between himself and the infirmary and sighed. Ten yards. Maybe twenty. But there were at least five of those gorram black-suited mercenaries between his people (aside from Mattie0 and safety now. And the captain himself was the only fighter he felt he could count on to take those five hostiles out.

The captain of Serenity looked behind him, taking stock of his assets once again, desperately attempting to find anyone else that could help clear a path to safety right now. Inara had a gun in her right hand, a firearm which had been pried out of the cold, dead hand of one of Niska's hired guns, who had died defending the Tam family and the crew of Serenity. However, Malcolm knew that, despite his lover's bravery, the ex-companion did not know how to use a gun as well as Jayne, River, Zoe, or himself. Furthermore, although Inara was standing up straight, with her usual, impeccable posture, the hand made wig on Inara's head, as well as the large beads of sweat on the woman's brow, made it clear that the elegant woman in front of Mal wasn't in the best shape she had ever been. Although Malcolm was grateful for the rapid progress that had been made by the doctors Tam in treating Inara's condition, which had shown signs of great improvement over the past few days, the captain knew those treatments had been rough on Inara's body. And the fact that Inara was already gasping for breath after the short run away from the mansion, and the mercenaries inside it, indicated that she was in no shape to fight. Even so, Inara's eyes had a fiery determination in them as she looked at Malcolm now. "What do you think, Mal? Can we fight our way through? Or make a run for it?"

"Go se! I don't know. There are five of those black armored Hwen Dans between us and that infirmary. I'm still conjuring a plan to take them out."

"Well, I don't mean to rush you, sir, but you might want to gorram hurry up with that planning and get us to that infirmary!" Zoe groaned from her position leaning against a nearby wall, even as she attempted to hold her right ring finger, which was bleeding profusely, to keep it from bleeding to much.

Simon Tam, now back in the clinical, emotionless "doctor mode" that the rest of the crew both loved (because it greatly increased Simon's performance treating people's injuries) and hated (because it made the young doctor seem like a sociopath at times) turned away from examining Zoe's injury just long enough to look at the captain. "I concur with Zoe's conclusion, Captain. That finger that one of our adversaries clipped with a bullet isn't long for the 'Verse if we don't get her to a medical facility immediately! If we don't get her to that infirmary very soon, I will be forced to amputate. Otherwise, Zoe's entire hand could become infected, which could cause her to experience blood poisoning and..."

Malcolm shook his head, chasing away old memories of men dying on cots as their wounds oozed blood, pus, and other unsanitary liquids as nurses in a woefully under-supplied med bay were helpless to save soldiers from ailments that had known treatments since before the great exodus from Earth-that was.. "Spare me the unpleasant details, Doc. Zoe and I have seen firsthand what blood poisoning looks like. And we both know that ain't no way for a person to die."

Malcolm and Zoe shared a look of understanding, and the first mate nodded before looking at Simon Tam. "If you have to amputate the finger, or even my whole gorram hand, to keep me from dying like that, you do it. Dohn-ma?"

Simon nodded. "Dohn. But it won't come to that if we can get to the infirmary on time." The young doctor looked pointedly at Mal. "Captain?"

Mal sighed as he mentally screened out the sounds of gunfire coming from all over the compound and tried not to worry about how Jayne and River were faring. The captain also tried to ignore the looks of his entire party (sans Gabriel Tam, who was too busy tending to his own patient) were giving him as he formulated a plan. "Well, those mercs are clustered too closely together for all of us to sneak past, so we're going to have to attack. I conjure I can take out two of them, but beyond that...I don't know. Zoe?"

Zoe flexed her non-dominant hand while Simon tended to the wounded finger on her other hand. "Can't shot straight with this hand, sir. But I can still use my knife. If I'm sneaky enough, I should be good for one hostile, two if I'm lucky."

Reagan Tam, who had been silent during most of the events since the initial shoot out at the mansion, finally spoke as she shook her head wildly. "So..that still leaves...what? One or two mercenaries that can kill the rest of us? Just like they they have probably already killed my daughter? I should never have let you talk us into leaving her alone with that brute, just so we can all go on some Yu Bun Duh death defying dash to the infirmary!"

Mal opened his mouth to argue with the Tam matriarch, but several other people beat him to it. Kaylee frowned at Reagan as she said. "Jayne ain't a brute, he's just...not the best conversationalist sometimes. And I'm sure he's taking real good care of River right now until we all meet up with Mattie at the infirmary. Besides, River's pretty good at handling herself..."

Zoe chuckled, even as her face grimaced in pain from her wound. "Pretty good, my pi gu. Your daughter saved all of us from an army of Reavers, ma'am If anything, it's probably Jayne that needs her protecting, Besides, I didn't hear you complaining about leaving the mansion when we were running for the door."

Gabriel Tam looked up from treating his patient for a moment. "That's because I told her to follow the captain's lead in the event an emergency arises, since my wife and I have absolutely no experience in dealing with people trying to kill us. That, and I threatened to chloroform her and drag her out of the mansion if she didn't leave with us. I was afraid that our broadcasts might anger the Alliance, and something like this might happen, but Reagan and I decided it was worth the risk, as long as you and your crew were around to help protect us. That was one of the reasons that I insisted that all of Serenity's crew should be part of the show, not just our children."

Mal shook his head then pointed right at Gabriel while speaking in a dangerous tone of voice. "You and I are going to have words later about you willfully putting my crew in harm's way. But right now, we need to get to that infirmary, or Zoe's going to lose a gorram finger, and this..."

Mal's forehead wrinkled in confusion as he pointed towards Gabriel Tam's patient. "Other guy is going to die. You know, I just realized that we've spent well over a week around him, and I don't even know his name."

The tall, dark-haired and gray-eyed man, who had a scar over his right eye, and whose facial features seemed oddly familiar to Mal and Zoe glared at the captain. "Chwee Ni Duh! I'm not dead yet, so don't go talking 'bout me like I'm not here. And the name is Vulture, by the way. I'm the head of security 'round here. At least I was, but from the state of things, I would guess that none of my men are still breathing, and I ain't long for this 'Verse myself."

Gabriel Tam sighed as his patient coughed out blood into a handkerchief, and the eldest Tam looked at the captain and said. "I'm afraid he's right, Captain. I've done all that I can for this man, but a bullet has punctured his lung, and he's already lost too much blood for me to save him, even if we're inside the infirmary right this moment. The best I could do for him there is use morphine to ease the pain of his passing."

The tall man growled. "So I could die in my sleep like an ailing pet?! No thank you! I would rather go out in a blaze of glory, doing what I have been promised payment to do, which is saving your sorry Pi Gus!"

Gabriel shook his head. "Mr...Vulture. You are in no condition to fight..."

But the captain cut the elder Tam off and spoke to Vulture. "Let me see your hands."

Vulture held up both of his hands, which he was able to hold as still and steady as a rock, despite his injuries, which had leaked blood all over his shirt. The captain nodded. "Steady. That's good. You won't be much good to us if you can't shoot straight. If you want to die helping us, I'm happy to oblige you, but I don't see how you can get paid if you're dead."

Vulture smiled, showing blood on his teeth. "In the event of my death, Mr. Niska has promised to pay my sister, Raven, a princely sum, provided all of the cast members survive. So I will die helping you, captain Reynolds, and I will give you the security codes so that your ship can leave this moon without being blown apart from Mr. Niska's rocket turrets..." Vulture handed Mal a small circular computer chip. "If you promise to make sure my sister gets that money. Please. She's the only family I have left, and the only person in my family I ever liked anyhow."

Malcolm nodded. "I promise that your sister will be paid for your service, even if it has to come from my own share."

Vulture nodded, and got his gun out of his holster, but Zoe had one last concern she wanted to clear up. "I couldn't help but notice you and your sister are named after birds of prey. You wouldn't happen to be related to a man named Crow, would you?"

Vulture laughed, an action which, again, made him cough up blood before he answered. "He's was my older brother. He and I signed on with Niska at the same time."

Malcolm frowned. "Vulture...there's something that you should know about your brother..."

Zoe frowned. "Sir. I really don't think it's the time to discuss."

Vulture grinned again. "Don't trouble yourself, Captain Reynolds. I don't care that you killed my brother. He was a Pi Gu. You knew it. I knew it. Half the 'Verse knew it. In fact, he was the one that gave me this..." Vulture pointed to the large scar on his face. "The only regret that I have concerning Crow's death, other than not killing him myself, was that I wasn't there to witness you kicking that Hwen Dan into your ship's engine."

Mal nodded. "Alright then. Zoe, do you think you can execute the same maneuver that you did during the battle for Boros?"

Zoe raised her eyebrow, even as she grunted in pain after Simon bound her broken finger as best he could.. "The first or second battle, sir?"

Mal shook his head. "First. You know as well as I do that second conflict wasn't a battle, it was a massacre."

Zoe nodded with a frown on her face. "I suppose it was, sir. I'll do my best."

Mal nodded, and Zoe departed without another word. Everyone else in the party watched the dark skinned woman walk quickly and quietly towards a nearby building, before Zoe rounded a corner and dissapeared from view. However, Malcolm couldn't help but notice that Vulture was still looking at the spot Zoe had been several seconds after she dissipated. Shortly thereafter, after Gabriel Tam had patched up as much of Vulture's wound as he could, the mercenary turned to Mal. "Your first mate is very beautiful. Mr. Niska specifically warned us not to fraternize with any of the cast members. But I can't help but wonder...If I had tried to...woo her, how far would I have gotten?"

The captain glared at Vulture. "That's my first officer you're talking about. And recently widowed, I might add. You would do well to keep a civil tongue in your head when it comes to her."

Vulture chuckled again, coughing up blood yet again. "Or what? You'll kill me? I meant no disrespect. Zoe is clearly a capable fighter and person. I admire her somewhat. But still, humor a dying man. Call it a last request. Tell me. If I had approached Zoe, what would my chances have been?"

Mal's eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head, but, after checking to make sure that Zoe hadn't started fighting the black armored mercenaries between his people and the infirmary yet, Mal turned back to Vulture and said. "Honestly? Not so shiny. You would have been lucky if she hadn't cut your Fey wu off for trying."

Vulture sighed. "I thought as much."

Malcolm nodded. "Great, so now that that essential matter is settled..." Inara and Kaylee, who had been watching the verbal exchange between the captain and Vulture with some interest, both smiled in amusement at Mal's tone, which was dripping with sarcasm. "Can we get out there and finish this fight while we're all still young?"

"There's no need for that, captain Reynolds." A voice came from behind a nearby building, and everyone but Mal and Vulture flinched before the owner of the voice revealed himself.

A sharply dressed man, dressed in an outfit that was no doubt the very height of core-world fashion stepped out from behind the building. The man's smile was pleasant enough, and his facial features would be considered pleasant to look at by most people,. But his eyes were the color of blue steel, and just as cold.

Atherton Wing's smile widened as more than a dozen black armored men ran out from behind several nearby buildings, and took position, with their guns aimed at Malcolm and his party, behind, and to both sides of, Atherton. The blue eyed man smirked. "As you can see, Captain, the battle has come to you..."

Just a block away, River Tam stared down the barrel off a gun, and glared at the blonde woman holding said firearm. After checking to make sure that Jayne wasn't going to bleed to death anytime soon, using some of the medical knowledge that she had picked up from Simon, and some Alliance doctors, over the past several years, the reader stood up to face the woman who was currently calling herself "Saffron." "She should lower her weapon before she gets killed. You aren't going to shoot me."

Saffron smirked. "Gorram, girl. They told me that you were a feng le, but I never expected that you were unhinged enough to threaten someone pointing a gun at your head. Now, cut the go se, put your weapons down, and get down on the ground. Nobody is going to hurt you if come along real quite like, Dohn-ma?

River ignored Saffron's words and slowly walked several steps towards her adversary. "She doesn't think so. She thinks she is worth more to the Alliance alive then dead."

Saffron cocked her gun for dramatic effect. "True. But you're still worth a shiny credit in a body bag now, feng le. You and all your friends. I guess the Alliance got tired of your lot giving them go se. But that ain't my worry. I'm just in it for the payday. Within the next ten seconds, your body is going to kiss the dirt. It's up to you whether you're going to still be breathing when that happens."

River smirked, but stopped walking forward. "I don't think so. YoSaffBridge doesn't kill any of them. She just leaves her victims in a place that it would be easy for them to die."

River had fire in her eyes as she stared at Saffron, and the smirk still hadn't left River's face. "She has never looked anybody in the eye when she kills them, and I don't think she will start now."

Saffron gave River a toothy, predatory grin, but the reader saw the fear in the con artist eyes as the latter spoke. "Five seconds. And I shot the gorilla easily enough. Now be a good girl and get on the ground before the same thing happens to you."

Jayne, still on the ground, gritted his teeth and shouted through his pain. "Do what the woman says, crazy girl. You can find a way to escape later!"

River's smirk faltered, but only for a moment, as she looked at Jayne in concern, but her confidence was back before the brunette turned her gaze back towards Saffron. "Time's up. If you were going to shoot me, you would have done it by now. The man they call Jayne's wound is serious, but not immediately life threatening..."

River looked back at Jayne again and gave the mercenary a half-smile. "He should still make a full recovery if he gets to a medical facility soon."

The reader had a murderous look in her eyes as she turned back to Saffron, whose hand was now trembling, ever so slightly, as she shouted at River. "On the ground now! I'm not going to ask again!"

River's shook her head. "No."

The reader drew her small knife out from underneath her sleeve and pointed the blade at Saffron before the con-artist could blink. "Turn around and run away. She will not be asked again."

The blonde and brunette just stared at each other for several seconds until, suddenly, River drew her hand back and threw her blade towards Saffron, and, half a second later, the blonde drew her gun and fired.

A moment later, with a loud BANG and a low, sick, THUD sound Saffron's bullet and River's knife both made contact with their intended targets. And both woman's bodies fell to the ground only a moment later.

"RIVER!" Jayne's scream was a primal thing. A loud, almost inhuman wail that greatly disturbed everyone in the villa who heard it. Even Atherton Wing was somewhat unnerved by the scream, as his usual smug look fled away from his face. But the moment soon passed, and the core-worlder smirked again he watched the reactions of Serenity's crew to Jayne's scream, which ran the spectrum from anguish over losing yet another friend on Mal and Vulture's, part, to panic, on Simon and Kaylee's end, and, in Reagan Tam's case outright baling. "No! Not my baby! Not my River! I told you we shouldn't have left her with that Hwen dan! I told you!"

Gabriel Tam held onto his wife in a tight embrace, but he could think of no words of comfort to offer her as tears fell from his own eyes. As Simon held Kaylee, who was on the edge of tears herself, he watched his father cry, and for the first time since their last fateful confrontation on Osiris, before Simon had ran away from home to look for River, the son saw in the father what the daughter had seen long ago. Not as unfeeling monster, but as a somewhat aloof, occasionally overprotective, flawed husband and father who still deeply cared for his wife and children. In that moment, even as he grieved for his sister Simon finally forgave his father for not believing him about the Academy, and as Simon and Gabriel made eye contact while holding their respective mates, both of which were openly sobbing now, the father and son reached a silent understanding with each other.

Atherton mock sighed. "Well, it sounds like one of you hwen dans is no longer among us. A shame too. River Tam was the only one of you that had any chance of getting out of this alive. I told my people not to shoot her unless she resisted capture. She's worth more to the Alliance alive, you see. The rest of you...not so much. But I can be gracious in victory, so I'll make you a deal. Submit your weapons to my men and put your hands behind your head, and I will personally insure that all of your deaths well be as quick and painless as possible."

Gabriel Tam glared at Atherton in hate. "How gracious and magnanimous of you, sir."

Atherton ignored the sarcasm in the older man's voice. "Yes. I think so to. Now please, hand over your weapons so we can get this over with and you can all die like the Ung Jeong Jia Ching Jien Soh that you are, so that me and my men can hunt your ape and his brother down, then go home."

Malcolm glared at Atherton. "Like hell we will..."

But Inara put her hand on Mal's arm to silence her lover, then looked at Atherton with wide eyes as she tried a more diplomatic tactic. "Atherton, there is no need for this. You and I have known each other for years. Surely we can come to some sort of arrangement that doesn't involve violence. If it's money you want, I still have some credits stowed away from my days as a Companion, and this show's benefactor would surely offer you a princely sum in exchange for safe passage..."

Atherton spat towards Inara's feet, missing the woman's left foot by inches. "Save it, whore! You had your chance for a happy life, filled with opulence, riches, and all the comforts you could ever want, when I offered you a place by my side, but you spurned me in favor of this..." Atherton pointed at Mal. "Hwen Dan instead! This isn't about money. Well...not just about money. The two of you humiliated me. Now you're going to pay with your lives..."

After Atherton had finished his rant and drawn a fencing blade out of the scabbard mounted on his hilt, all of his men pointed their guns at the elder Tams and the members of Serenity's crew which were present. However, just before they could all fire, Vulture right eye twitched as he spotted something in his peripheral vision, and the man raised his hand and grunted through the pain of his wound "Can I ask just one gorram question before we die?."

Mal and Atherton both looked at the mercenary with surprise evident on their face, but Malcolm allowed himself a small smile when he saw what Vulture had seen, just as Atherton replied to Niska's dying henchman. The core-world man sighed and motioned his men to lower their weapons as he did the same. "Very well. What is it you just have to know before my men blow all of your yu bun duh brains out?"

Vulture shrugged. "How did you manage to land anywhere on this moon without your ships getting blown up? Mr. Niska's missile defense system should have taken care of you before you ever reached us. And, how the gorram hell did you manage to find where this gorram show was even being filmed? Mr. Niska assured me that the broadcast was scrambled enough that it would be impossible to find the source."

Atherton allowed himself a wide smirk. "Finding you all was simplicity itself. After watching an episode of your thinly veiled piece of go se anti-Alliance propaganda, out of sheer morbid curiosity, I quickly recognized the style of the architecture that the builders of this villa uses. My family vacationed on this moon when I was a child, you see. From there, it was a simple matter of finding a decent tracker/bounty hunter to narrow down your location to this particular villa, and hiring enough mercenaries to kill you all."

"As far as getting through this moon's newly installed defenses..." Atherton shrugged. "That was a bit harder. I had to hire someone with a bit less...orthodox talents to steal the clearance codes from Niska's skyplex so that we could land here. She called herself Bridgette when I hired her."

Malcolm, Inara, Kaylee, and Simon's eyes all widened in surprise, causing Atherton's smirk to widen even further. "Yes. She said that you might remember her. Anyway, apart from her cut of all of your Alliance bounties, which are considerable, Bridgette demanded only one thing. That she be allowed to come here in order to help me bring River Tam in and take all of you hwen dans down. Now..."

"You talk too much." One of Atherton's "henchmen" who had been inching closer and closer to the core-world man as he spoke, pointed a gun at Mr Wing. And it was only at that moment that most of the people present noticed that the black clad individual, who was holding a weapon in her non-dominant hand, was of a slightly smaller build than the other black-armored individuals, and that the glove on this person's dominant hand had blood all over it, spreading out from one of the finger sockets.

Atherton smiled, but there was fear in his gaze now, even as his men pointed their guns at the pretender. "Mrs. Washburne, I presume? I was wondering where you were skulking about. Calmly lower your weapon please. Killing me would be a waste. You are out-manned and outgunned. You can't possibly kill all of my men by yourself."

Vulture grimaced as he and Mal pulled their guns out quickly and simultaneously, pointing their weapons at the mercenaries threatening Zoe. "She won't have to."

Some of the black clad mercenaries then proceeded to aim their guns at Malcolm and Vulture, while the others kept their sights firmly on Zoe, who still had her gun inches in front of Atherton's head. Malcolm sighed. "Shiny execution of that Boros maneuver, Zoe. But I think we might have all reached an impasse here."

"Yes." Atherton gulped, even as he silently hoped that nobody noticed the small amount of moisture that had just come out of his crotch. "I believe on Earth-that-was, they would have called this a Mexican stand-off."

A block away, Jayne was quietly sobbing out of great physical and emotional pain, even as he continued to apply pressure to his stomach wound "River..."

"Shh. She is...shiny. And he will be okay soon."

Jayne had to wipe away unshod tears to make out the face of the individual who was currently holding his head up, inches above the ground, with one hand, while stroking the mercenary's facial hair with the other. "River."

The brunette holding Jayne's head smiled. "The river is still flowing. Yes. But the albatross' wing is injured."

"Wha..." Jayne stopped verbalizing his confusion when he saw a bloody streak of torn skin on the side of River's forehead, where Saffron's bullet had grazed her, as well as the bump on the back of River's skull, which was slightly obscured by the hazel-eyed young woman's hair. Jayne frowned. "You're hurt."

River giggled, but there was a nervous look in her eyes as she tore away the segments of Jayne's shirt which had blood on them, then tore off just enough of her own shirt to reveal her slim stomach before fashioning a make-shift bandage out of the ripped segment of her garment. River then proceeded to bandage up Jayne's wounded, muscular stomach as best as she could as she replied. "Says the man with the bullet in his stomach She will heal. And so will he...you, as soon as Simon can get that bullet out. The woman with many names was not so lucky."

Jayne just nodded, grunting in pain whenever River had to tighten the bandage over his wound. But when River was finished, the big man spoke. "I can't believe that jien huo came back again and managed to get me hurt a third gorram time! And this time, she hurt you as well! I can't believe I ever offered to trade Vera for that guay toh guay nown!

River frowned for a long second, then nodded. "Yes. That would have been a very bad trade for you. Vera's a good gun. A very special lady."

Jayne nodded as he stared at River's body, including her exposed midriff for a long moment, then looked at her beautiful hazel eyes and smirked. "Yeah. But I can think of one that I'm starting to like even more."

River smirked, even as she covered his exposed midsection, the silently mouthed 'later' as the brunette slowly rose to her feet. The reader sighed. "YoSaffBridge is dead, but another is coming. Someone worse."

Jayne grunted. "There's no chance you could maybe drag me to the infirmary and hide before he gets here, is there?"

River just shook her head, but Jayne saw the fear in her hazel eyes. The mercenary sighed. "Figures. Get your pi gu out of here then, crazy! Run, hide, get to the rendezvous point to meet up with Mattie! Do something so that you don't gorram die!"

River shook her head again, harder this time, as she continued to look at something straight ahead. "No. Man they call Jayne is her mate, and she will not leave him."

"Aw, ain't that sweet. Beauty protecting the beast." A mocking voice came from a man who jumped off a nearby two-story building with little apparent effort, other than bending his legs just before he hit the ground. Jayne noted that, although he had never seen the black man with the conspicuous looking red suit in his life, the voice of the person before him seemed oddly familiar.

River's hand shook as she picked up Saffron's old gun and pointed it at the man in front of her. A threatening gesture made somewhat less intimidating by the fact that River's hand was still shaking, and that the brunette was having difficulty tracking the dark-skinned man's movements with her gun. "Not another step, Mr. Early!"

The bounty hunter chuckled maniacally, even as Jayne figured out who the psychopath, who had just stopped walking several feet behind the spot where the big man was lying, was. "Now, now. There's no need for that. I'm a bounty hunter. Not a killer. Unless I have to be. My associates have their own plans for your friends, little one, but I am only here to take you in...alive. So things will be just shiny if you come with me quietly this time, like a good little pet. Otherwise..."

Jubal Early flashed River a grin that was all teeth, and no mirth, as he pulled out his gun and pointed it, not at the brunette young woman in front of him, but the bounty hunter at her feet. "Your little Kai Tze is going to be eating a lead sandwich today. Dohn-ma? So..." River's arm continued to tremble slightly, but she did not lower here weapon as the bounty hunter added with a sudden frown. "What's it going to be?"

 **AN: So, first of all, I would like to apologize for taking so long to get this chapter out. All I can say is, my life has been hectic lately, leaving me less time for writing. But I will try to get the next chapter out a little quicker. As always, I would like to thank all of my readers for their support and input for this story. A special thanks goes out to everyone who has reviewed my last chapter so far, including bjq, Wicked, Onna, and galwidanatitud!**

 **And again, an extra-special thanks goes out to my beta-reader, who helps me make my stories as shiny as possible. Thank you so much for all your help!**

 **Until next time, I am...**

 **-supercode**

 **P.S. For those of you that celebrate it, have a Happy Thanksgiving!**

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	10. Rogues pt 3

"Tzao Gao!' The core-world "gentleman" gulped as he gazed intently at the gun pointed at his head. But the man's fear quickly gave way to anger. "Feh feh pi goh! Don't be Chwen! You are all dead anyway! Do you understand? Do you even know the damage you have all done?! There is no way that the Alliance is going to let you live after that, so why don't you do what sha gwa do, and die!"

Zoe cocked her gun, causing Atherton to flinch, then close his eyes.. "Can I kill him now, sir? I don't think I can take five more minutes of this gorram grumbling."

Mal grinned despite himself. "Not just yet, Zoe. Let's give little lord fancy-pants a chance to call off his men and run away first."

The captain turned to Atherton with a cold look in his eyes. "Nobody else has to die today if you and yours lay down arms. Otherwise, we may die, but I promise you that we will take down you, and as many of your men as we can, down with us.. Dohn ma?

Simon, Kaylee, and the elder Tams all glared at the captain simultaneously as he continued. "So you surrendering is the only way we're all going to get out of this alive. Live or die. It's your choice.

Atherton ground his teeth together while opening his eyes. "You'd let me go, just like that?"

Mal nodded, again ignoring the glares coming his way. "Just like that."

Atherton sighed . "Well, that's a relief. And here I thought you people didn't know how to be reasona...'

"'Course." Malcolm quickly added. "If we find out that River truly is dead, then you won't be safe for long. I took that crazy girl and her brother in, made them crew. Offered them my protection. So if you walk away today, and I found out your men harmed a hair on that little girl's head, you best start sleeping with one eye open. Because if that's the cause, me and mine will hunt you down to the end of the 'Verse. No matter where you hide, or how many guards you hire, we will look for you. We will find you. And we will gorram kill you."

Atherton glared at the captain, but the intimidating gesture was somewhat undercut by the sweat on Atherton's forehead. "I'm afraid I will have to turn down your most generous offer, Captain Reynolds." The core-worlder's words were dripping with sarcasm as he added. "If I going to die either way. I'd rather...what was that primitive expression you used? Oh yes, 'take you down with me.' Besides..."

Atherton's face fixed itself into a scowl. "You people have ruined everything for me! Do you even know what your gorram transmissions have done to the 'Verse?! War has broken out again on the Border and Rim, there is civil unrest, and calls for mass impeachments of many Parliament officials in the Central planets, and there have even been riots concerning the Academy on many worlds once considered to be loyal to the Alliance. Osiris is practically a war zone with all the violent protests on that world..."

Gabriel and Reagan Tam spared a moment to look at each other. A sort of pride filled both of the elder Tams as they thought that their efforts to organize protests on their home world concerning the Academy had obviously gained traction...Albeit in a more violent fashion than the parents would have liked.

Atherton's eyes were wide and crazy as his rant continued. "And worst of all, the Alliance government and the stock market are both in chaos. Me and my family have lost nearly everything because of you people! It took me every last credit I still owned just to put this wet-work team together and hunt you all down! Even if I die, I will still consider it a win if my mercenaries do just that! And then I hope you and your entire gorram crew burn in all the hells there ever..."

BAM!

The hit came out of nowhere, from one of Serenity's crew members that was least prone to violence, taking everyone by surprise, Simon Tam glared at Atherton Wing, who was currently lying on the ground with a hand on his busted lip, having just been knocked flat on his ass. The core-worlder's blood was still dripping off his knuckles when the young doctor shook his sore hand and said. "Do you ever shut up, you hwen dan?!"

Atherton glared at the young doctor as he rose from the ground, still trying to stop his lips from bleeding. "No. But you and your friends are about to."

The core-world gentleman turned to his mercenaries. "Well, what are you all standing around for?! This chwen hit me! Shoot him!"

As the mercenaries turned their guns at Simon Tam, Kaylee's eyes widened, and the elder Tams both gasped, while Malcolm, Zoe, and Vulture just looked worried, as they tried to think of a way to save the doctor. Only Simon himself seemed completely stoic in the face of his inevitable demise as he quickly stammered out. "Am I take that to mean that you don't accept my challenge?"

Atherton raised his hand, motioning his mercenaries to lower their weapons just a fraction of a second before they could fire on Simon. Atherton turned his cold eyes to the young doctor. "I'm sorry. What challenge?"

Simon stared right back at Atherton without flinching. "I struck you on the face with a closed fist, didn't I? Now, I know my sister and I have been away from 'civilization' for a long time, but last time I checked, that still counts as a challenge for a duel. Is that not still the case?"

Mal chuckled, finally seeing what his ship's doc was up to. "It was the last time I hit this sha gwa do at some fancy shin dig on Persephone. He challenged me to a fight to the death over that little tap. Didn't you, Athy?"

Atherton glared at Serenity's captain. "My name...is Atherton Wing! Not Athy! I don't credit your lot with an abundance of brains, but I trust you and your friends can remember at least that much for the rest of your short, rutting little lives! And that situation was completely different! When you hit me, Malcolm Reynolds, it was in the presence of people like me! People of fine breeding that actually mattered! My honor demanded that I shed your life's blood on my blade for that insult!"

"But you people..." Atherton sneered at [most of] the crew of Serenity and the elder Tams. "Your names are all go se since you all have started making such a mess of the 'Verse! You are all nothing! Less than nothing! And I couldn't care less what you all think of me in the few short moments before you all die!"

Inara raised her right eyebrow. "What about your men?"

Atherton shook his head. "What about them? I pay them well, and they do what I tell them to."

Mal shook his head. "So you don't care if your men respect you or not? If they see you let a challenge go unanswered?"

Atherton's eyes widened as his mercenaries looked at him, as if waiting for an answer to Mal's question. "Well I...um."

Inara smirked. "You see, Atherton. Things work differently out here that they do in the Core. Your men may kill us for the bounties, but if they don't respect you, there's not guarantee they won't kill you right afterwards in order to take more money for themselves."

Atherton's eyes darted between Simon and his black-armored mercenaries for several seconds, before Simon finally cleared his throat. "So, Mr. Wing. Do you accept my challenge or not?"

"Argh!" Atherton's frustrated yell was punctuated by the man ramming his fist into the open palm of his other hand. "Fine! I accept your challenge! You..."

Atherton pointed to one of his mercs. "Fetch me my dueling blades from my cabin on the ship! And make sure to hand me the one marked "A" on the handle. That's my favorite blade."

As the mercenary ran to do as his employer's bidding, Atherton turned back to Simon and his friends and smirked. "I know you are just trying to buy time, Dr. Tam, but it won't work! This moon is two days away from any sizable fighting force, military or otherwise! No one is coming to your rescue! But I'm going to enjoy running you through!"

Simon smirked right back. "We'll see about that."

Atherton laughed. "Yes, yes you will! But I warn you, I have never once lost a duel."

The core-world gentleman glared at Mal and Inara. "Not a fair one, anyway."

Seeing that Simon was still smirking, and that neither of the elder Tams seemed particularly concerned at the prospect of their son engaging in a sword duel to the death, Malcolm turned to the elder Tams and whispered. "Not that you and your boy's confidence ain't all kinds of inspiring and all, but aren't you the least bit concerned that your son might die? This core-world hwen dan may not look like much, but I've fought him before. Trust me, he's not one to be trifled with."

Inara nodded and added in a whisper. "Mal's right. Atherton's killed many men with his blade. Mal only beat him once due to blind luck and a little interference on my part. But when Mal let him live, I thought it was a noble gesture at the time."

Mal sighed. "In my experience, stupid and noble often go hand in hand. I should have killed that piece of go se when I had the chance!"

Gabriel Tam grunted. "No argument here. But don't worry, my son is going to be just fine. He was captain of every fencing team he's been on, from high school, all the way through medical school. My son knows how to wield a blade."

Reagan Tam nodded."Yes. Simon should be able to kill this man."

The older woman frowned. "As long as he can break through his doctoral training and conditioning."

The Tam patriarch turned to his son, who had been stretching some of his muscles, and put his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Simon. Just for today, I need you to forget everything they taught you in medical school about not taking a life. I'm a doctor too, and I know that's not an easy thing to ask of you. But for all of our sakes, and for River's, if she's still alive, you need to kill this man..."

Simon just nodded at his father's words just before Atherton's mercenary came back with his two swords and tossed one to the doctor with a sneer. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

Simon's face was stoic and his eyes were unreadable as he effortlessly caught his sword in the air. The young doctor then replied. "Stakes?"

Atherton shook his head and chuckled. "I would have thought that would be obvious. I win, you, and all your friends, die."

Simon nodded, ignoring Kaylee whispered plea. "Simon! Don't do this! We can find another way!"

The doctor looked back at Atherton. "And if I win?"

Atherton's eyes danced with a particular, dangerous gleam that only dwelt in the eyes of a person who enjoyed killing."That won't happen. But...on the off chance you get lucky and beat me...My men will let you all go. Even your sister and the thug that was guarding her, as well as the large one's brother. If they're still alive, that is."

One of the black-armored mercenaries turned to Atherton and whispered angrily. "That wasn't part of the deal! These folk are worth a lot of money to the Alliance! We're not going to let them go just because you lose a sword fight."

As the core-world gentleman whispered something to his men that calmed them down, Mal put his hand on Simon's right shoulder and said. " You've toughened up a lot over the past year or so, and if what your parents say about your skill with a blade is true, I know you can beat this man. "

As Serenity's captain withdrew his hand, Simon nodded. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"That said... You wouldn't mind ever too terribly if the rest of us keep our hands close to our guns to defend ourselves, would you? You know, just in case." Inara rolled her eyes and whispered "Mal...", even as the captain, Vulture, and even Zoe (who had moved away from Atherton and was now standing next to her allies) all moved their hands close to their guns.

Simon chuckled quietly "I would think you were all gorram fools if you didn't."

The young doctor started walking towards the man who sought to collect the bounties on him and his friends. But he stopped for just a moment when Kaylee put herself between Simon and Atherton Simon sighed. "Kaylee, I have to..."

But the young doctor's words were stopped by the presence of the mechanic's lips on his own. After his mouth opened of it's own accord, Simon savored the familiar mixture of flavors on his tongue. Engine fermented whiskey, strawberries, and another, pleasant taste that Simon didn't know how to describe, that was simply, uniquely, Kaylee. All too soon, the moment ended, as the mechanic reluctantly pulled away from the young doctor and forced herself to smile. "I know. Kick his pi gu!

"Ahem." Atherton cleared his throat as he walked towards Simon. "I hate to interrupt this touching moment, but we don't have all day, and..."

Simon quickly pulled away from Kaylee and walked up to Atherton, sword in hand. "You're right. No more talking."

Atherton grinned. "It's about time."

And without another word being spoken, the young doctor and the core-world gentleman lunged at each other with their blades...

A block away, a very different kind of battle was being fought. A contest, not of blade and muscle, but of mind and will. Jubal Early and River Tam starred each other down.

The bounty hunter kept his gun pointed at Jayne Cobb's head. "I'll count to ten. I'm going to blow Mr. Cobb's head clean off his shoulders unless you drop your weapon and surrender yourself to me like a good girl."

The reader kept her own weapon aimed at Jubal Early's head. "He will not pull the trigger if he wants to live. If he persists in threatening the man they call Jayne, fire and destruction will rain down on his head. The Albatross will never fly with the buzzard."

Jubal laughed. "Five. Six. Your friend doesn't have long to live if you don't put your gun away."

River glared at the madman. "No. He doesn't have long to live now."

A sane man might have felt a shiver go done his spine due to River's words. But Jubal only felt somewhat unsettled, as the bounty hunter knew, in the back of his mind, that River wasn't talking about Jayne Cobb. But the madman ignored the feeling in favor of counting. "Eight. Nine..."

Jayne, who had been silent up until this point, out of fear that saying anything would goad Jubal into shooting him, choose that moment to speak. "Rutting hell! You're just going to let me die!?"

River gave Jayne the annoyed look the reader always gave someone when she thought they were being stupid, then turned to Jubal, who cocked his gun for dramatic effect. "Nine and a half. Nine and three quarters. Okay...I'm out of patience. Your little boyfriend is going to die now..."

Jayne closed his eyes and waited for the end. But before Jubal could fire, the mercenary heard River shout. "Wait!"

Jubal drew his gun slightly away from Jayne, who had just opened his eyes enough to see River hold her gun towards the sky, away from the bounty hunter. Jubal Early laughed. "Yes, that's a good girl. Now, throw down your weapon and let me put these on you..." Jayne felt a sick feeling in his stomach when the bounty hunter pulled a pair of handcuffs out of one of his outfits pockets, using the hand that wasn't holding a gun to the "Hero of Canton's" head."

Suddenly, the mercenary remembered that Kaylee had once confided in him that Jubal had threatened to rape the mechanic if Simon did not help the bounty hunter find his sister, during Jubal's one and only intrusion on Serenity. That unpleasant memory, combined with the manic grin on Jubal's face when he showed River the handcuffs he wanted to bind her with, gave rise to a strong feeling, no, a certainty, in Jayne Cobb's gut. The merc just knew Early would hurt and violate River in all kinds of ways if she turned herself over to the bounty hunter.

With that unsettling thought in his head, Jayne grunted threw his pain enough to shout. "On second thought, just let me die, River. Don't turn yourself over to this piece of go se! I'm not worth it!"

River smiled at Jayne then, reading his concerned thoughts for her well being as easily as she would a newspaper. The reader then turned her gaze back to Jubal and frowned. "She said she will not be going with the buzzard. She only told him to wait."

Jubal glared at River, put his gun up against Jayne's head, then shouted. "And I said I'm out of patience, and Jayne Cobb is out of time! What did you want me to wait for, hmm? Wait for me to change my mind? Wait for Mr. Cobb to draw just a few more breaths because you are to weak to say goodbye to him? What..."

But the rest of Jubal's words were cut off as a the madman felt a sharp pain in his chest, followed by the feeling of wet, sticky substance staining the front of his red suit. The bounty hunter was only barely able to register a felling of surprise when he looked down to find a blade sticking out of his chest, and lots of blood coming out of the wound. But the madman didn't register another hand, dark like his own, grabbing the gun out of his hand and throwing it on the ground, far from Jayne Cobb. The bounty hunter was able to muster up just enough energy and the presence of mind to chuckle and say. "So this is what death feels like."

Then the sword was withdrawn from Jubal Early's chest, and the sadistic bounty hunter collapsed to the ground, and knew no more.

River gave the other black man, who was still holding his bloody sword, an unreadable look. But the reader soon turned her attention away from the former Alliance Operative, and looked at the dead body of Jubal Early, then tossed her empty gun to the ground. "Wait for him to stab you."

Jayne, somewhat woozy from blood loss, turned his head up and backward towards his rescuer "You, But you're that crazy gorram operative that was trying to kill us a little while back! Why would you..."

The man-with-no-name smiled. "As I told Malcolm Reynolds before, I was an operative of the Alliance government, but I lost faith in their regime, and I have been working against them instead. Ever since I heard about Miranda."

River shook her head. "No time for introductions or explanations. Man called Jayne needs medical attention, and he is too heavy for her to lift. Can you get him to the infirmary, then wake up his brother, while she...while I...help my friends?"

The ex-operative smiled and nodded. "I will. But you will need a loaded weapon. Here..."

The man handed River his pistol, along with several clips of ammo, when the reader approached him. "My standard issue side-arm from my time with the Alliance. I have committed many atrocities with this weapon, and I do not wish to carry it any longer. Use it better than I did."

River just nodded as she took the offered weapon, and said nothing when the former operative replaced his old pistol by looting one of Jubal Early's guns from the bounty hunter's corpse. The former operative then bent down to pick Jayne up, but the mercenary was resistant to the dark-skinned man's help. "Get your gorram hands off of me! I don't want the help of no purple-belly hwen dan who killed two of my friends!"

Jayne continued to resist the former operative's attempts to pick him up until River spoke. "Man called Jayne needs medical help, and he must go with the enemy turned ally if he wishes to continue living."

Jayne stopped struggling and turned his eyes to River. "Are you sure? How do you know we can trust him? You said yourself that your reader abilities haven't been up to snuff lately."

River rolled her eyes. "Not that recent a development. Man-with-no-name hasn't been purple-belly since Mr. Universe's. Man called Jayne must trust her."

The mercenary sighed, and wordlessly nodded to the ex-operative, who quickly picked the big man up with a grunt, then put Jayne's body in a position where it could lean against his own. Jayne then glared at the former servant of Parliament. "But you and I will have words after I'm patched up, concerning you killing Shepard and Wash. Dohn ma?"

The former operative nodded, and began leading the larger man to the infirmary. But Jayne had one last thing to say before he's allow the Operative to lead him away. "River? We got a talk we ain't finished. Don't you go rutting dying on me before we do."

River allowed herself a half-smile as she nodded. "She will do her best. He and she have a lot of rutting to do, and she does not wish to miss that."

Jayne just nodded while holding his face away from River, so the reader couldn't see his cheeks turning bright red at her words. The ex-operative saw this, but refrained from commenting on Jayne's embarrassment, although there was a small smirk on his face as he led the mercenary towards the infirmary. Satisfied that her future mate was safe, River turned around and walked in the direction she sensed her endangered family and crew-mates were.

CLANG! Two steel swords collided as Atherton's lunging strike was quickly parried by Simon Tam's own blade. The core-world gentleman glared at the young doctor. "Is that all you can do, defend? Attack, you stupid, gorram chwen!

Simon just smiled in reply. This small gesture only infuriated Atherton more, and the gentleman lunged at Simon repeatedly with his blade. But each attack was effortlessly dodged or parried by the young doctor.

Mal slowed leaned towards Inara's ear and whispered. "I'm no expert or anything, but I'm a mite concerned about Simon's tactics. The doc's just been defending for the past five minutes. Isn't it generally a good idea to, you know, fight back?"

Inara shook her head. "Not if you're trying to wear your opponent out first, or make them angry."

Atherton's attacks became increasingly erratic, as the man's steely eyes filled with hate. In the meantime, Simon's demeanor was the very image of stoic, as he parried the other man chaotic attacks with ever greater ease. The young doctor only broke out of his calm appearance to shoot Atherton a smirk or a grin every now in then, enraging the gentleman further, even as sweat started to pour down Mr. Wing's brow.

Mal smirked. "In that case, I'd say Simon's strategy is succeeding admirably."

But when Mal looked at the elder Tams, and noticed their worried looks (Mal was mentally screening out Kaylee's reactions, as the mechanic would gasp or cover her mouth every time Atherton attempted to attack her boyfriend, and smile and silently cheer when Simon parried his opponent's attacks), the captain's look become more somber. "What's wrong? Do you think Simon's strategy ain't so shiny?"

Reagan just shrugged, but her husband elaborated on his wife's non-verbal answer. "Not necessarily It's just that it takes a master swordsman to pull off his defense-centered strategy, and I don't know how much practice my son has gotten with a blade while he's been a member of your crew. When executed correctly, my son's strategy should wear out an opponent until they're easily defeated. But one misstep, one mistake, could be fatal."

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say, because when Atherton's next attack came dangerously close to hitting Simon, cutting close enough to the doctor's skin to make a large rip in his right shirt sleeve, Kaylee quietly yelped, then covered her mouth in embarrassment. Reagan Tam glared slightly at her husband then lightly put her arm on Kaylee's shoulder and said. "Pay no attention to my husband, dear. Simon's always been a natural with a blade. He even considered becoming a professional duelist at one point, before his father and I convinced him that being a doctor would be much more practical. I'm sure my son will be just fine."

Kaylee managed a small half-smile towards Reagan Tam before she turned back to watch the battle. Sure enough, Atherton was breathing heavily at this point, and his attacks were losing intensity with each slash or lunging attack. This trend continued for another minute or so, until finally, Simon countered a particularly overreaching lunge attack on his opponent's part by simply side-stepping the attack, then quickly slashing Atherton's sword arm.

"AAAGH!" Atherton half-yelled, half screamed as he dropped his heavy blade, which his injured arm could no longer bear the weight of. "You stupid hwen dan! You'll pay for this!"

But Simon ignored both Atherton's threats and Kaylee's cheer of "Shiny!" as the young doctor pointed his blade right at his opponent's head and said. "Yield."

Atherton opened and closed his mouth several times, like a fish out of water. "What?"

Simon glared at Atherton. "I said, yield, and I'll spare your life. Even though you've tried to kill me and my friends, even though you may have already killed my sister, if you yield, right now, take your men and weapons, minus the swords, and leave in peace, I will still let you live. It's the best offer you're going to get, and it's better than a gorram coward like you deserves, so I suggest that you take it."

Atherton sighed, then, after looking at his men, nodded. "Fine. I yield. But can I at least take one of my swords back home with me? These blades are family heirlooms. They've been with the Wings for generations. It would stain the honor of my household if I failed to bring even one of them back to my family's estate on Persephone."

Simon nodded. "Take the sword on the ground and go."

Atherton nodded, then turned around to pick up the fallen sword. As the core-world gentleman bent to pick up his blade, one of his men protested. "Are you seriously just gonna let these folks go?! You said, if you lost, we oughta..."

But when Atherton looked at his underling, something in his gaze silenced the dark-armored mercenary. The cold-eyed man then turned towards Simon Tam with a smile ...right before he swung his blade at Simon's face using his non-dominant hand!

CLANG!

Atherton's blade very nearly caught the young doctor by surprise, but Simon just managed to block the attack before the blade reached his face. However, Atherton's vengeance was not denied so easily, and Simon's opponent grunted and strained with both arms to bring his blade close enough to Simon to cut the young doctor's face.

As the two combatants struggled to gain dominance, everything else seemed to fade away. The two men barely noticed Kaylee's gasp of terror, or that both Simon's friends and the black-armored mercenaries had their hands on their guns, ready to start shooting if the battle turned against their ally's favor. All that mattered in that moment, to both Atherton and Simon, was their struggle against one another. A struggle that both now knew could only end in one way: with the death of one of them.

This obvious conclusion was only reaffirmed by a strange, sickly sweet scent that Simon smelled coming off Atherton's blade. One that was so faint that Simon's nose had been unable to pick it up until his opponent's sword was inches from his own face. Nonetheless, it was easy for the the young doctor to guess what it was he was now smelling. Simon glared at Atherton as he continued pushing against his opponent's sword. "You dishonorable son of a whore! You poisoned your blade!"

Atherton smirked. "Of course I did! That particular venom is a favorite of my mine. I brewed myself. Upon contact with your skin, it will kill you within moments. There's no point in fighting fair when you're life is on the line, is there? I made the mistake of underestimating one of your friends back on Persephone, and he and his whore brought dishonor on me when I lost in a duel then. But Malcolm Reynolds' was foolish enough to let me live afterwards. I will not make the same mistake with you!"

With that, Atherton made one last, mighty effort to cut Simon with his blade, causing Atherton's poisoned sword to come withing millimeters of nicking the young doctor's face. But the core-world gentleman's efforts were in vain, as exhaustion, and the strain on his already injured arm, finally overtook him, allowing Simon Tam to push back against Atherton's blade, forcing Mr. Wing to cut himself with his own sword!

"Aaaah!" Atherton let out a loud cry of anguish as he dropped his own blade to the ground, then put his hand to his face, which was becoming paler by the second, as a mixture of blood, and another, sickly yellow substance leaked out his wound. The core-world gentleman looked at Simon in disbelief. "You killed me, you Pi gu. Killed me with my...sword."

Atherton said no more as he collapsed to the ground, where he convulsed for several seconds before becoming completely still. Simon and Gabriel Tam looked shared a knowing look. The doctors Tam didn't need to check Atherton's pulse to tell that Mr. Wing was now dead.

Unfortunately, however, Atherton's demise did not escape his mercenaries' notice either. As they had been instructed beforehand, every single one of the black-armored mercenaries reached for their guns after Mr. Wing had died. But three of the mercenaries' hands never made it to their guns.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three shots rang out from an Alliance issued pistol, and three bodies fell to ground immediately thereafter Simon, Kaylee, and the elder Tams all let out gasps of surprise, or shouts of joy, when they saw the person who had fired those three bullets. Mal, Zoe, and Vulture, however, only allowed themselves a quick glance at the brunette with the smoking gun, who had likely just saved their lives, before the bodyguard and two of his charges all drew their weapons at the black-armored mercenaries.

River Tam herself was far too busy to greet family members or crew, as the reader was forced to duck inside a nearby building as multiple mercenaries tried to shoot her. However, due to River's natural athleticism, and the "training" the Alliance had given her at the Academy, the hazel-eyed young woman was, just barely, able to dodge the bullets that came her way. A split second later, Mal, Zoe, and Vulture, all opened fire on the mercenaries.

BANG! BANG! BANG!BANG! BANG!

The fact that all of said mercenaries had been distracted by River certainly benefited their opponents, as the captain, his first mate, and the hired gun who had been charged with protecting them, where able to down five black-armored mercs during this time.

By the time the black-armored mercenaries were able to return fire on Mal and his allies, the hit squad's ranks were greatly diminished. Sensing how many of her opponent's had perished, and that their was only one merc currently covering her position, the reader took a calculated risk, sticking her head and body outside of a window just enough to gun down her only remaining attacker.

BANG! BANG!

The reader's risk paid off, as the young woman was able to gun down her attacker, as well as one of the mercenaries attacking her friends, before she was forced to duck back into the building to avoid being fired upon herself. By this point, however, the battle had firmly turned against the sad remnant's of Atherton Wing's mercenary gang, as Mal, Zoe, Vulture, and River continuously ran between buildings, ducking for cover, and firing from multiple fronts, over the next several minutes. In the meantime, Inara, Simon, Kaylee, and the elder Tams all ducked for cover in a nearby building, while hoping that their friends would come out of the battle alive and (mostly) shiny.

However, one of the black-armored mercenaries saw the building that the former Companion, mechanic, and most of the Tam family, had fled to. This mercenary, seeing that battle had turned against his squad, quickly darted inside said building in the hopes of securing a hostage to get off of Niska's moon alive. But the mercenary was not able to secure access to the non-combatants hiding place without attracting unwanted attention.

"Jao Gao!" Vulture quietly cursed as he saw one of last remaining black-armored mercs ducking into the "safe zone." The body guard acted as quickly as his tired, dying body would let him, and he quietly sneaked inside Inara, Kaylee and the elder Tam's place of refuge while Mal, Zoe, and River were busy gunning down the remaining members of Atherton's kill squad outside.

The bodyguard ignored the several BANG! Sounds and screams coming from outside, as well as Mal's cry of "I reckon we got them all!" as he attempted to sneak up on the last black-armored mercenary. But Vulture's attempts to surprise the last hostile failed, as the last of Atherton's hit-men quickly ran toward the non-combatants hiding spot, placed Simon between himself and Vulture, and aimed his assault rifle right at the young doctor. "Make another move, scar-face, and this chwen gets it!"

Vulture, who was now huffing, puffing and coughing up blood, nodded in acknowledgment of the other mercenary's words, but his hand never moved from his gun hand, which was now shaking as a side-effect of going into shock from blood loss. The last hit-man ignored Vulture, however, in favor of glaring at Simon Tam. "This is all your gorram fault! We had all of your bounties in the bag, and we were going to kill little lord fancy-pants to get his cut after we killed or captured all of you hwen dan. Then your stupid stunt with that gorram sword fight ruined everything! Well, I'm not gonna die on this gorram moon, and I did not lose all of my friends just to walk away with nothing! You're my ticket out of this place, Dr. Tam, and to a better life at the Bellerophon estat..."

"No!" Kaylee interrupted with a loud scream as the short, curvy mechanic quickly pushed Simon Tam away from the hit-man's line of sight...only to end up in the hit-man's cross-hairs instead. The mercenary growled. "You stupid little bitch!" And prepared to fire at Kaylee, who had placed herself firmly between the black-armored mercenary and Simon, the latter of which was too tired from his sword fight with Atherton to push the mechanic out of harms way.

BANG! BANG!

Two shots rang out almost simultaneously, and Inara and the elder Tams gasped while Simon and Kaylee both closed their eyes, bracing themselves for a painful death. But when, after several seconds, neither Kaylee nor Simon were feeling any pain, the doctor and the mechanic both opened their eyes and looked around. It didn't take the gifted mechanic and her boyfriend long to figure out what had happened after they spotted both Vulture and the last of Atherton's mercenaries, both lying on the floor in a pool of blood.

Vulture, opened his eyes, surprising everyone who was now in the room, including Mal, Zoe and River, who had rushed into the building just a moment too late to stop the last hit-man themselves, as the bodyguard coughed up blood, then spoke in a weakening voice that made it clear he was not long for the 'Verse. "Stupid...hwen dan...shot me...in the...chest. I...shot him...in the...head. Even dying...and slow...I was still...better than...him."

Zoe took off her newly acquired black helmet and knelled next to Vulture. "You did good. We'll tell Niska that you did a shiny job protecting us, and we'll make sure your family gets something for your troubles. Even in death, if you do the job, you get paid."

Zoe turned around to look at Mal. "Isn't that right, sir?"

Mal nodded. "That's right. And we'll make sure your sister gets your body so you can have a proper burial."

Vulture smiled, showing bloody teeth again. "Thank...you."

Zoe smiled back at the bodyguard and said. "One last thing, I heard what you said back there. Just so you know, you're not half-bad looking, even with your scar, and if we'd had more time to get to know each other, after I'd had time to mourn my husband...who knows? Maybe there could have been something between us."

Vulture's grin widened. "Thank you. That's just...shiny."

After the bodyguard had breathed his last, and the doctors Tam had verified his demise, Simon slowly closed Vulture's eyes, which had been staring blankly into nothingness, and closed the bodyguard's mouth. Zoe watched this moment closely from a distance, even as everyone else was to busy checking up on each other to insure everyone who was still alive was shiny. Mal walked up beside his first mate and said. "So...you thought Vulture was..."

Zoe wouldn't even let her captain finish his sentence, but Mal couldn't help but notice his right-hand woman wouldn't look him in the eye as she said. "Man was dying, sir. Didn't think there was any harm in telling a good warrior taking his last breaths what he wanted to hear. Especially one that died defending one of our own."

Mal nodded. "I figure that's so."

Zoe's eyes still wouldn't meet the captain's as she added. "I'm going to take a look around the Villa. See if there are any more hostiles about."

River, who had walked around, then behind, Mal and Zoe so quietly that she took both soldiers completely by surprise, spoke. "The shark with the false smile and his piranha are all dead. The albatross would hear their thoughts if there were any still skulking about. We should all be heading to the infirmary. Especially her..." River looked pointedly at Zoe. "She is wounded."

Mal looked at the bloody wound were Saffron's bullet had grazed River. "You don't look so shiny yourself."

River nodded gravely. "The albatro...I only have a flesh wound. And her...my attackers are all dead. But not before one of them hurt her...my mate. We must go to the infirmary to treat our wounds and check on my man called Jayne who is there. He requires urgent assistance. Jayne's brother is also still there, waiting for us."

Mal sighed. "I sense you, me, and Jayne are going to have a long talk before all this is over. But you're not wrong. We all need to get to the medical center."

Zoe nodded. "The rest of you should do that, but I'm still going to take one last look around before I do. Just to see for myself that we're safe."

Mal opened his mouth to object, while pointing at his first mate's finger, but Zoe quickly added. "I'll make it quick, sir. But I still have feeling in my finger, and I need to make sure we're all in the clear."

Mal just nodded as Zoe silently left the building, then the captain turned to the others. "What are you all still standing around for?! The infirmary is our rendezvous point, and some of need urgent medical attention. Let's move out people!" The Tams and Inara all gave Mal annoyed looks for his rude manner of addressing them, but they did as the captain said anyway, albeit with several grumbles of discontent thrown in as they all walked the short distance to the infirmary, while the doctors Tam carried Vulture's corps with them.

 **AN: And so ends another chapter! I hope all of find this to be a decent Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate this time of year) present this season, as I will soon be going to a place where I will not have access to a computer for a while. But fear not, I have no intention of leaving this story unfinished! In any case, please let me know what you think of this chapter. Once again, I would like to thank all of my readers for supporting this story, especially bjq, Wicked, Onna, and galwidanatitud, who have reviewed my last chapter as of the time of this writing. And of course, a very special thank you is in order for my beta-reader. You are the wind for my leaf, watch how we soar. But watch out for reavers, and sudden objects of impalement!**

 **Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!**

 **Until next time, I am...**

 **-supercode**

 **Addendum: I noticed that I had been neglecting a certain character in this story lately, and although I have an explanation for this, I now realize that I had not fully explained Mattie's absence in the last few chapters to my readers, so I have made some small changes to some of the chapters since chapter 7. You can re-read those chapters if you wish, but if not, just know that Mattie has been sleeping off his last round of post-treatment for his damp lung during the events of Atherton's invasion of the villa. Sorry for any confusion my writing errors may have caused my readers.**


	11. Aftermath: Part 1

Gabriel Tam slowly walked to the infirmary of Adelai Niska's Skyplex. The Tam patriarch thought over all the events that had occurred since Atherton's Wing's ill-fated attempts to kill his family, as well as what remained of the crew that had taken the two young youngest Tams in. It was hard to believe it had only been three days since the events of that debacle, most of which had been caught by hidden camera, and broadcast to the 'Verse.

After the final shootout with Atherton's remaining assassins that day, the Tams, Inara, Kaylee, Mal, and, eventually, Zoe had all made a somber trek back to the infirmary, while some of them carried the corpse of Vulture, the mercenary who had given his life to protect the crew of Serenity, as well as the elder Tams, with them. When the group, minus Zoe, had finally arrived at the infirmary, most of the survivors of the shootout were surprised to find, not only a badly injured and unconscious Jayne Cobb, and his (finally awake) brother, Mattie, but a black man whose face the elder Tams had seen once before on their television sets, and that the crew of Serenity was all too familiar with.

"Hwen dan!" Without thinking, Malcolm Reynolds quickly drew his gun from his holster and attempted to fire on the man-with-no-name's head...only to stopped by River Tam, who moved even faster. Using a strength that the captain hadn't suspected River to posses, River stopped Mal's index finger from pulling back on the trigger. The reader then shook her head, and pulled her own right index finger away from the captain's trigger finger while speaking. "Man-with-no-name is no longer enemy of those who are seeking Serenity. Foe-turned-friend saved the life of man called Jayne. That man's mate owes him, and the Albatross will not let man called bad harm the former purple belly, even if he has been her Captain daddy for many moons, before birth mommy and daddy came back.."

Most of the people in the room had looked at River likes she was a crazy person at that moment, which to be fair, the psychic kind of was. But Malcolm Reynolds noted that Simon and the ex-Operative of Parliament were smirking in amusement, instead of appearing bemused, so the captain turned to Simon. "Doc, you speak River. What the gorram hell is she on about?"

Simon shrugged. "This one's pretty simple really, The..." realizing that the amused looking dark-skin man in front of him was definitely not an Operative of Parliament anymore, Simon faltered a little. "Um...this guy..." Serenity's resident doctor gestured to the man-with-no-name and continued speaking "Saved Jayne's life, and since River considers Jayne her boyfriend now, for reasons I can't even begin to fathom..."

Simon turned to River with an incredulous expression on his face. "Really? Jayne?"

River shrugged and rolled her eyes. "The heart wants what it wants. Besides, man people-of-Canton-call-hero is not as bad as he, or you, believe him to be."

Simon opened his mouth for a retort, but Mal raised up his hand to stop that particular argument before it could start. "No, I understood all of that, although I take issue with you calling me 'daddy', little girl, because I ain't..."

River shook her head. "Man-called-bad is her Captain daddy. He and Serenity took her and her Ghuh Ghuh in. Man-called-bad became second father to the Albatross, Serenity became second mother."

Reagan Tam shook her head in confusion. "River.."

But Simon shook his head to silence her, even as Mal sighed, then said to River."Right. Should have known better than to try to argue with you when you're more moon-brained than usual. And like I said, I understood everything you said about you and Jayne...Really, Jayne?"

When River gave Mal a glare that was equal parts annoyed and creepy, the captain of Serenity changed the subject. "Fine. All three of us will be taking about that later, after the Bei Bi Shiou Ren don't die. What I want to know is, what is this man-called-bad business about?"

Inara scowled at the man-with-no-name as she spoke to the captain of Serenity. "Really, Mal?! The Hwen dan who attacked us, whose actions got Shepard and Wash, and a lot of our friends, killed, and very nearly took out the rest of us, is here, and that's what you went to talk about?'

The black man just shrugged as Malcolm looked indignant. "I tried to draw my gun on him as soon as we walked in the door!"

Mal turned to Kaylee. "Didn't I try to shoot this Ta Ma Duh?!"

Kaylee nodded with a serious expression on her face. "That you did, Cap'n. You looked very impressive and imposing for a bit there. Till River stopped you from shooting him on account that he saved Jayne and all."

The mechanic glared briefly at the man-with-no-name before she turned to Inara and said "I don't like what this man did, either. I know he killed a lot of our friends. But I think River's right. It ain't right for us to kill him now that he's trying to help us instead of kill us. That just seems like cold blooded murder to me, and that's not who we are. Right, Cap'n?"

Mal sighed, even as he glared at the former Operative. "I guess it ain't. And as much as I'd like to make an exception for you, whoever you are, my crew is in a lot of hurt, and we ain't up for a fight now, anyhow."

Simon cleared his throat and tried to alleviate some of the tension in the room as he spoke. "Um...Mal means "bad", in Latin, just in case you were still wondering."

Everyone in the room ignored Simon in favor of glaring at the former Operative as the captain spoke. "I believe River when she says you helped Jayne. And it didn't escape my notice that some of the bodies of Atherton's goons that my crew ran across on our way here were killed by a sword. I also know that you sent that second broadcast from Mr. Universe's. For those reasons, I ain't gonna kill you now. But know this. I don't know why you turned against the Alliance and I don't care. You still killed a lot of decent folk, so don't expect a thank you. In fact, I want you out of my sight right this moment. When Zoe gets here, if you're still in this room, she's going to put a bullet in you for what your men and the Reavers did to her husband, and I won't stop her. SO GET OUT! NOW!"

The former Operative bowed his head slightly and started to exit the room, before River whispered a single word in the dark-skinned man's ear. A word that, in this context, was not the name of a planet, but an alias of a woman the man-with-no-name had long forgotten, The ex-operative smiled, just a little bit, before he finished walking out the door, while saying. "I still owe all of you for what I've done to your crew, so it is likely we will see each other again. But for now, I will honor your wishes, Captain Reynolds, and go my own way. To find something...someone, that I've lost. Then, probably, hide away in one of the many cracks in the Alliance's bureaucracy, which I used to hate, which have, ironically, become my only refuges in recent times."

After the man-with-no-name left, Simon turned to his sister. "River...what did you tell...him?"

River pointed to her head. "Reading is coming back now, along with some, but not all, crazy. Saw deep in man-with-no-name's mind, somewhere even he doesn't remember how to go...a person that could remind him who he was before he was an Operative. Told former purple belly where to go to make him...not whole, but better. Albatross doesn't like him for killing friends either, but like she said, she owed him for saving her mate. Now, man-with-no-name owes me."

Before anyone, including Mattie, who was about to open his mouth to ask what was going on, or how Jayne had gotten injured, River pointed to Jayne without looking at him. "Man-called-Jayne is injured. Man-with-no-name took lead out of his belly with medic kit, but large man still needs an infusion of red blood cells. He..." River pointed to the younger Cobb brother. "Is the only one with a matching blood type."

Mattie nodded, deciding to push his questions aside for the moment. "If my big brother needs me, you gorram bet I'll help him."

Gabriel sighed, even as Mattie stretched out his left arm towards the doctor's Tam, waiting for his blood to be taken. The older doctor nodded. "Fine, but just so you have informed consent, Matthew Cobb, you just recovered from a taxing medical procedure. Although you no longer have damp lung, you're body will be fatigued for several hours after that procedure. If you give blood now, you could experience side effects, such as severe, long lasting fatigue, a temporary, or long-lasting, comatose state, or, perhaps, death. Do you still wish to give blood at this time?"

River stared off into the distance, refusing to meet her father's, Jayne's, or Mattie's eyes, even as Mattie nodded. "Absolutely. There is no gorram way I'm going to let my big brother die."

Jayne shook his head. "No way. You're my Di! It's my job to take care of you, and I ain't letting you risk dying for me! No gorram way. Besides..." Jayne looked away from his brother. "I've done things...killed people. I don't deserve to be saved if it means you might die. You're a better person than I am."

Mattie shook his head. "I don't see it that way...and neither does she." Mattie nodded towards River, who didn't speak, or look towards either Cobb brother, but nodded once in reply. Mattie turned back to Jayne. "I've talked to the crew of Serenity. And from the stories I've heard, you've saved every one of them, at least once. And you've saved my life more times than I can count. Ma never told you this, but the money you were sending back home helped a lot. There were times that our parents didn't have enough money to pay for the medicine I would have died without, and Pa would even consider stealing to buy more. The platinum you sent back home would suddenly arrive in the post, giving our family just enough money to buy my medicine and still make ends meet. Ma would brag to all our neighbors about how much you were helping us, like you were an angel sent by God himself, personally delivering manna from heaven."

Jayne got real quiet for a moment while everyone in the room really looked at the mercenary, but the moment soon passed, and the elder Cobb brother scoffed. "Please. I ain't no angel. Even Ma knows that. Besides, that don't mean nothing. I sent money back home, because you and the rest of our family needed it. And you take care of family. Everybody in the 'Verse knows that!"

River just smiled as Mal shook his head. "Not everyone lives by that standard, believe me."

Jayne was very uncomfortable by this point, as many people in the room where still staring at him. "Um...well that's just..."

Mattie sighed and interrupted his brother. "Look, it doesn't matter why you did it. The fact is, you've saved my life, kept our family afloat, and probably kept Pa from getting arrested, several times over. It's time for me to repay the favor, please let me do this, Jayne!"

Jayne, who felt a sudden wave of fatigue hit him, nodded, and just barely managed to say. "Okay, Mattie. Okay." Before falling unconscious That was all the prompting that Gabriel Tam had needed to rush between Jayne and Mattie and start the blood transfusion process.

Simon had also rushed forward to help, but River had put a hand on the younger doctor's shoulder to stop him, shook her head, then pointed to the front door of the infirmary. Moments later, Zoe walked in through said doorway, holding her injured finger and hissing in pain. The psychic turned to her brother. "Birth daddy will save the Albatross' mate, and do the best he can to insure the smaller one doesn't die. You need to save the Leaf's widow, and her finger, if possible."

Zoe grunted in pain. "Your sister's right, doc. I may have waited too long already to have this finger looked at, because it hurts like guai! I need to you to operate on this gorram thing now, before it falls off, or gets infected! If you have to amputate to keep me from getting blood poisoning, do it!"

Simon sighed as he led Zoe to an operating table. "Yes. You've said that, already. But I don't think that will be necessary.. This is a fully equipped med-bay, with a lot of high-grade antibiotics from the Core that can treat even the most resistant bacteria. As long as we operate right now, you're going to be fine..."

The events of the next hour or so of operating had passed by quickly for the doctors Tam, who quickly rushed to save their patients' life and limb. But it had passed all too slowly for the rest of Serenity's crew and Reagan Tam. Kaylee had paced back and forth, between Jayne and Mattie, on one side of the room, and Zoe, on the other side of the infirmary, constantly asking "Are they all going to be okay?" Eventually, both doctors had asked Kaylee to "Leave this room!" Although Simon had expressed the same sentiment in a more polite fashion than his father. "Kaylee, can you please go to another room, just for a little bit, so that my father and I can focus on treating our patients?! I'll let you know what is going on as soon as I can." Only Simon's calmer 'request' convinced Kaylee to leave for another room in the facility, while Inara lead the mechanic out of the room while saying "Let's see if any room in this medical clinic has some decent supplies for making tea, shall we?"

Reagan Tam was probably the calmest person in the room, as she had seen both Simon and Gabriel operate before, and she had no close relationship to anyone who was currently being treated by her son or her husband. However, Reagan was slightly concerned about how River, who had already admitted to, at the very least, having strong feelings for Jayne Cobb, would react if the mercenary died. Malcolm Reynolds also looked calm...but on the inside, he more than a little bit worried. Although the captain was a little concerned for Jayne (not that he would ever admit it), his primary fear was for Zoe Wasburne. Although Mal knew his first mate would probably be fine, visions of men dying in medical tents continued to plague his thoughts, and the captain of Serenity couldn't help but fear that Zoe might end up the same way because she had received medical treatment too late for Simon to stop her blood from getting poisoned. The captain honestly didn't know what he would do without Zoe. For although Inara had his heart, and always would, it had always been Zoe, his sister-in-arms, and long-time best friend, who had known how to keep Malcolm's head straight in a crisis...

However, the captain voiced none of his worried thoughts, and tried not to look at either Jayne, nor Zoe, too much, as he carried out an idle conversation with Reagan Tam, who Mal was only half paying attention to. River's concern, on the other hand, was much easier to read, as the psychic continuously stared at Jayne and Mattie's beds, which had been brought close together for the blood transfusion. The brunette psychic spoke in a flat tone of voice. And even though the strange young woman's eyes never drifted away from the Cobb brothers, it was obvious she was addressing the captain. "Captain daddy's first will be fine. Man-called-Jayne will live too. Albatross' other daddy knows how to save his daughter's mate. Old healer's hands are practiced and steady. Small one's future is uncertain. Too many variables to determine strain on body, blood replenishment rates unknown Like a physicist's feline. Impossible to tell living from dead until box is opened. Man called Jayne will not do well with dead Mattie. Can't face maternal unit or siblings with another dead Cobb. Procedures are almost finished. Albatross must retrieve units of partially frozen oxidane."

Mal shook his head as River left the room. "What?!"

Reagan sighed and shook her head. " The only parts I understood was that Zoe and Jayne will be okay, but my daughter is worried about Mattie. Oh, and I think River's thirsty, because she said she was going to go get some ice water."

"How can that craz...I mean, River, possibly worry about being thirsty at a gorram time like this?"

The psychic's mom, as well as the captain, soon got their answer when River reentered the room with a large glass of ice water, which she then handed to Gabriel Tam just as he opened his mouth to say "Matthew Cobb is badly dehydrated from this transfusion, can anyone get me some ice... "

River quickly handed her father the ice water, causing the elder doctor in the room to raise his eyebrows. "Alright then."

River watched Mattie quickly gulp down the ice water that Gabriel Tam handed him, causing River to raise her right eyebrows. "She sees that the small Cobb is not catatonic. Is he going to be all right?"

Mattie chuckled. "First of all, I'm only small compared to my Sasquatch of a brother. Second of all, why are you talking like that?"

River frowned. "She...I find it harder to say things right when I am anxious. It would help her...I mean, me, to know that you and man-called-Jayne, are going to be all right."

Mattie sighed. "I feel alright. I hope Jayne will be too."

Gabriel Tam allowed himself a half-smile, but his tone was stern when he said. "Okay, that's enough chatting from you, Mr. Cobb. Your brother is going to be fine, although I may have to place him in a temporary, medically induced coma so he doesn't open up his military grade stitches again. But you won't be if you don't get some rest immediately! You've just been through two strenuous medical procedures in a row, and I must insist you go to sleep right now! Doctor's orders!"

Matthew nodded, then said, in a sarcastic tone. "Yes, sir, Doctor Tam, sir!" However, the mercenary's younger brother still did what Gabriel Tam had asked him to do, and went to sleep. But only after both Gabriel and River Tam had glared the younger Cobb brother into submission.

After both Cobb brothers were asleep, and Simon and Gabriel Tam had insured that all of their patients were stable, the doctors Tam turned their attention to their wounded family member. Gabriel sighed as he walked over to his daughter, who was now staring only at Jayne, now that she knew Mattie was going to be okay. " That's my River. Always getting into trouble, ever since you were small. Let me check on that head wound of yours...'

River shook her head. "It's only a flesh wound. Not relevant. She must insure that her mate will survive, before she can worry about herself."

Simon sighed as he too, walked up to a spot next to River, opposite his father's position in the room. Mei-Mei, our father is taking good care of both Jayne and Mattie. They are both going to be okay. And you know that head wounds can be serious, even when they look like they're not, because I know that. You aren't helping Jayne by denying yourself medical care. Besides, if you and Jayne are...an item, now, he might prefer it if your face doesn't develop a nasty scar..."

River glared at Simon for his lack of tact, then sighed and turned towards her father. "She will allow her Doctor daddy to heal her wound, and insure the Albatross' brain pan doesn't become more damaged than it already is."

Simon nodded. "Good, I can help..."

River rolled her eyes. "Not his field. Albatross wants Doctor daddy to tend her wounds."

Simon opened his mouth to object, but Gabriel Tam nodded in response to River's words and said "You're sister's right, son. I have much more experience in performing cosmetic surgery than you do. I can help River on my own, now that both Mr. Cobbs are in stable condition."

Simon sighed. "So I'm supposed to stand around and do nothing! I became a doctor because I want to help people, just like you!'

Gabriel Tam smiled. "I understand. I really do. I remember having all that youthful energy, that need to help as many as people as I possibly could every day, from when I was young. And even though I still enjoy being a healer, I miss having that level of passion for being a doctor. But a great doctor needs to have the wisdom to know where he is needed, and where he is not. River doesn't need you right at this moment. But Kaylee, your girlfriend, does. You should go talk to her now."

Simon smiled and nodded, and began walking out of the central med-bay area, but not before taking one last look at River, who was now having her wound being treated with a disinfectant. "Are you sure you're going to alright, River?"

River had rolled her eyes at her brother's concern. "Go talk to your girlfriend, boob."

After that, Simon had left the room. Gabriel Tam did not seen his son for a while after that, until three large gunships, crewed by a small number of Niska's men, and a large group of mercenaries, had landed at the villa. A large red-skinned man, which Gabriel had read once might have been called a "Native American" back on Earth-that-was, had gotten out of one of the ships, asking for Malcolm Reynolds. The large man had a rather heated discussion with the captain of Serenity, who had, on one occasion, cried out, "Like hell we will!" concerning something the large man had said, but no one else in the infirmary had been able to overhear, the captain had huffed and shouted "Fine, but I don't gorram like it!" The large man then spoke to everyone at the infirmary. "Mr. Niska had determined that this location is no longer safe. Therefore, he has procured my mercenary company's service to escort you all to his own base of operations. He has also remotely unlocked your ship from it's docking clamps. Captain Malcolm Reynolds has agreed to follow our ships to that location using the course Mr. Niska has already made for that purpose. So get your ship gassed up, and grab any supplies you need. We all leave in 30 minutes!"

The evacuation from the villa had been a rushed affair, but eventually, everyone except Jayne (who was still unconscious, and needed to be carried out on a stretcher) was able to walk back to Serenity, which had been refueled just before the captain piloted the ship out. Normally, Mal would have ordered River to pilot the ship, but before the captain of Serenity could even open his mouth to ask her to do so, River had looked at Jayne and said. "The Albatross would like to hold the man-called-Jayne steady while the flock flies to safety. It would mean a lot to her Captain da...I mean, Captain."

Mal had sighed then, but relented. "Fine. You can look after Jayne. I know how to fly this ship pretty decently anyhow. But I will be talking to both you and Jayne, when he wakes up, about fraternizing on my ship!"

River looked pointedly at the captain, then at Inara, who was sitting at a nearby table on the ship. The captain frowned. "That's...completely different. I'm the captain of this ship!"

The psychic had to resist the urge to roll her eyes as she then looked at Kaylee, who was leaning her head against Simon's chest and almost sitting on the young doctor's lap. River also shot a quicker, sadder glance in Zoe's direction, as the dark-skinned woman with the bandaged finger was now looking at one of her late husband's small plastic dinosaurs that she was mindlessly playing with using her injured hand while staring vacantly into space. Mal had shrugged and sighed then, even as he whispered softly. "Yeah, and look how that turned out."

River shrugged, and whispered softly. "Fun is fun, and done is done. The Soldier and the Leaf made each other happy, for a time. She thinks that is what matters."

Mal could only nod at that, then walked towards the cockpit to prep Serenity for takeoff, with Inara following close behind him for reasons nobody felt the need to speculate on. Meanwhile, Gabriel Tam, who had been sitting closest to River and Jayne's position on the ship, just before River and Simon wheeled the large man to the infirmary, and who had only pretended not to overhear the conversation between his daughter and her captain, had said nothing as he held his slumbering wife close to him. But if the the knowing smile his daughter had on her face when she left the room while looking right at her father was any indication, River was well aware that Gabriel had overheard her conversation with Mal about her relationship with Jayne.

Soon afterwards, Kaylee had left the common area as well, stating that "I'm gonna check in on Simon, River and Jayne." This left only Gabriel, a sleeping Reagan Tam, and Zoe Washburne, alone in the room together. Since neither Gabriel, nor Zoe, had much to say to the other, the rest of the ride to Niska's Skyplex had been a silent one.

Once the cast of the now-defunct show, "Walking Alongside the Tams", arrived at the Skyplex, and the Cobb brothers were safely situated in the space-station's infirmary, the mercenary boss had gathered his mercs and the cast together to address them all. "Here's how it is. According to Mr. Niska, and corroborated by many sources, the Alliance government recently went through a massive regime change, the exact details of which do not concern us at this moment. What is important to our situation, is that, effective less than a day ago, the purple bellies rescinded all bounties and warrants on the crew of Serenity and the Tam family. Else wise, me and my boys would have turned you over to the Feds ourselves, dohn-ma?"

Mal crossed his arms and glared at the mercenary captain as he nodded. "Dohn. I would expect nothing less from disreputable folks such as yourselves. Which is the only reason that I believe you when you say that me and mine aren't wanted by the Alliance no more. My crew and I will have to get to the bottom of why that is later. Now, my peoples' bounties are gone, and you did your job getting us off that gorram moon. Does this mean me, my crew, and these fine folk here..." Malcolm pointed at the elder Tams. "are free to leave as soon as the Cobbs are healed up?"

The mercenary captain chuckled. "Afraid not. Just because the Alliance ain't breathing down your necks no more, don't mean the 'Verse is safe for you lot now. In point of fact, the 'Verse is in less than shiny shape after all the go se you've all been pulling recently. A lot of folks hold your people responsible for that, and want you all dead. And even with your warrants and bounties gone, the Alliance want to bring you lot in for questioning concerning the events that occurred on and around Miranda. Mr. Niska would like to meet with all of you before then, to help you get your story straight for the Feds. In the meantime, my men and I will make sure that you all continue to enjoy all of the luxuries of Mr. Niska's hospitality here at his Skyplex, until your host returns from his business trip. Do whatever you like. Watch the Cortex feed till your brain pans turn to mush, drink whiskey till your livers bleed, eat till someone has to roll you to your room, or run on the exercise track until your gorram feet fall off, if that's more to your liking. Just don't be buhn dahns and try to leave the Skyplex."

Zoe quietly grunted in pain after popping the knuckles on her injured hand. "So you're saying that we just exchanged one fancy prison for another. Well, isn't that just shiny?"

The Native American merc ignored Zoe in favor of holding his hands out, while many others in his company of miscreants did the same. "Oh, and we'll be taking all of your weapons now. You won't be needing them here. Me and my men will protect you all."

The captain of Serenity shook his head. "We've heard that before." Mal quickly took stock of all the mercenaries surrounding his crew and the elder Tams, decided that the odds of a firefight would not be in his people's favor, then nodded. "Do as the man says."

Everyone of the crew members of Serenity, including Kaylee, handed weapons they had scrounged up in the Villa to the mercenaries. Kaylee handed in a large wrench, Inara gave up the .45 she had picked up off of one of Niska's dead mercs, Simon gave up his dueling blade, Mal and Zoe both handed in two pistols each, although Zoe also gave up the assault rifle she had taken from the corpse of one of Atherton's goons. River, one the other hand, produced two pistols, one of Jayne's hunting knives, several grenades, and an assault rifle, all with a creepy smile on her face.

The mercenary captain shook his head in bewilderment. Gorram, girl! Where have you been hiding all of that go se?!"

River's creepy smile remained on her face as she stared at the mercenary captain without blinking. "That is for her to know, and him to never find out. The red man should know that she is also a weapon, but she will not be handing herself over to him."

"Also..." River turned toward a tall, muscular mercenary that had been checking out the psychic's ass since she had started handing in the weapons she had been carrying. "The joo bah jeh should know that he will be castrated if he acts on the thoughts he has had over the past 2.5 minutes. Only man-called-Jayne may touch the Albatross that way. Not him."

The large mercenary only sneered at River in response to her threats, but when the mercenary captain glared at his subordinate, the enforcer looked down submissively as the merc captain said "Leave the little lady alone, Kowalski. There be plenty of doxies for you to rut with after we get paid for watching after these folks."

Shortly thereafter, the crew of Serenity had been left to their own devices, and Mal had turned to his crew and the elder Tams to say, "You heard the man, let's make ourselves at home."

All of the couples in the room had paired off then, as Mal had taken Inara by the hand towards one of the guest rooms on Niska's space station, and the doctors Tam had started walking towards their rooms with their respective mates after making sure Jayne was stabilized in the station's med bay, where River was making herself at home. At the same time, Zoe had lead her new friend, Mattie, who was still a little weak from blood loss, safely to his own quarters. It was at this point in time that Gabriel Tam had tried to catch Kaylee's eye at that point to speak with her. "Miss Frye? May I speak to you for a moment about a matter of great importance?"

Kaylee looked like deer caught in the headlights as her eyes widened. "I...um...I was actually going to..."

Simon gently put his hands on his girlfriend's shoulder. "What I think Kaylee is trying to say, is that she's a little shaken up by the go se that went down at the Villa, and isn't ready to talk with you just yet. Another time, perhaps?"

Simon's face had been a stoic mask at the time, but the man's father saw that there was only concern, not anger in the younger doctor's eyes, so Gabriel Tam had nodded towards Kaylee and smiled. "Another time would be just fine."

Reagan Tam had lightly hit her husband's shoulder then and sighed. "What is it with you and your poor sense of timing, Gabriel?"

Gabriel opened his mouth to speak. "I was just going to say..."

Reagan sighed, then smiled. "I know what you wanted to talk to the girl about, and I think it's nice that you are finally getting your head out your pi gu concerning that matter. But she's just had quite a fright. We all have. We need to rest awhile. So why don't we go check on our daughter, then get to bed?"

Gabriel Tam had sighed and nodded then. "Okay."

River had turned out to be relatively fine, although she refused to leave Jayne's side in the infirmary, and all she would say to her parents at the time was. "The Albatross is fine, but she wishes to watch over her mate for a time." Gabriel and Reagan Tam had sighed, but deciding they didn't want to start an argument concerning Jayne at the moment, reluctantly agreed to leave River alone with the unconscious Jayne, after securing a promise from River that the young psychic would not stay up too late, and would notify either Gabriel or Simon, if Jayne woke up from his medically induced coma.

Deciding to take his wife's advice, Gabriel gave his children, and Kaylee, space for a few days, although visits to the infirmary to check on Jayne's relatively stable condition allowed him a few chances to speak to Simon, who had, at one point, shook his head and said "I'm sorry you and mom got mixed up in Atherton and his men trying to kill me and the rest of Serenity's crew.."

But Gabriel had just patted Simon on the shoulder, smiled and said. "It's not your fault that your mother and I dragged you into this silly reality show nonsense. That's on her and me. But I am very proud of how you and River both handled yourself when the go se hit the fan."

River herself had been sleeping at the time that conversation between father and son had occurred. More precisely, she was sleeping on a fully blanketed and sheeted mattress that the young woman had somehow dragged away from one of the Skyplex's guest rooms and into the infirmary...right next to Jayne's medical cot. When confronted about this decision by her parents the morning after their arrival to the Skyplex, River had given Gabriel and Reagan Tam a serious look and said. "She promised she would go to sleep at a reasonable hour. The Albatross made no promises concerning where she would slumber. Man-called-Jayne is her mate, and she will watch over him until he wakes up."

Reagan had sighed then, and said "River, I know this man has saved your life at the Villa. And your father and I are so grateful for that..and understand why you'd want to watch over him in return, but we've heard some disconcerting stories from your captain, and from one of the episodes of the show we filmed, concerning some...misunderstandings you and Jayne had in the past."

Gabriel had growled a little then. "That's putting it very mildly, don't you think? River, Jayne tried to sell you and your brother off to the Alliance! How could you possibly forgive him for..."

River glared at her father then. "Did the Captain daddy leave out the part were Jayne rescued me and Simon from the Alliance afterwards? Or perhaps Birth mommy and daddy didn't hear the part of the Albatross' conversation with man-called-Jayne in the bar, where her mate only tried to get rid of her because she had attacked him with a deadly weapon? And there's something else...something man- called-Jayne doesn't know that I know about. Hero of Canton was ashamed of trying to give her and Simon to the purple bellies. Sick with what he had almost done. You should ask the captain sometime why he allowed man-called-Jayne to stay on Serenity after his betrayal. Then you will know how sorry her mate was for what he did. She and Jayne have forgiven each other for hurting each other in the past..."

River looked at her mother and father with a gaze that was not uncompassionate but firm in resolve. "We forgave each other. We trust each other. And that has nothing to do with her parental units."

Gabriel had opened his mouth to protest that declaration, but Reagan just shook her head at her husband, and the elder doctor on the Skyplex nodded and sighed. He knew as well as his wife did that once River had made up her mind about something, nothing in the 'Verse could change it. However, Reagan Tam did manage to make one last appeal to her daughter's logic from a different angle, albeit unsuccessfully "We understand River. Your father and I are glad that you and Jayne have...what is that old expression? Cleared the air between you two. It's always nice to have friends you trust watching out for you, isn't it? But...your father and I are a bit concerned about your more...romantic inclinations towards Jayne, After all, that man is so much older, more experienced in the ways of the 'Verse. I mean, on Osiris, you wouldn't even be considered an adult quite yet and...We're just concerned you and Jayne might not be the best match."

River had shook her head at that. "She is considered an adult according to Alliance law, and on most planets in the 'Verse. And she will be eighteen soon. An adult, even among among the fancible folk on Osiris.."

River half-smiled at her mother, just for an instant, as she said, "She knows the mama bird worries, but her chicks have left the nest. They must be trusted to fly on their own, now."

Deciding that there was nothing more to be said on the subject of Jayne, until the mercenary woke up, the parents had mostly left River alone, apart from them, and Simon, making sure that River got fed three times a day, and got a fresh set of clothes daily.

As the elder Tams waited for Niska to come back, they tried to divert themselves as best as they could. As usual, however, Gabriel and Reagan spent much of the day apart, engaging in their own preferred activities. When Gabriel wasn't attending to Jayne in the med-bay, the Tam patriarch spent much of his time in Mr. Niska's surprisingly vast library. Sometimes, the older man would read alone, in silence. Other times, Mattie, who Gabriel also sometimes ran into at the infirmary when the younger Cobb visited Jayne, would read right alongside Jayne, and the two men would sometimes have conversations about what they were reading.

Mattie and Gabriel had a particularly riveting (for them, anyway), conversations about an English translation of "The Art of War", which had started when Mattie proclaimed with a grin "This is a shiny book I might actually be able to convince Jayne to read!", and Gabriel had replied "Yes. I'm sure your brother would be interested in that book, based upon the title, but it also contains life lessons about non-violent conflict that he would probably benefit from as well. He'll need all the help he can get on that score if River's heart stays set on him. May the heavens help that man if he gets into an argument with her. My daughter just might be the most stubborn person in the 'Verse!"

Meanwhile, Reagan Tam had mostly stuck to reading the few romance novels that Niska's wife had left in the library, from the privacy of her and Gabriel's room, or watching TV on the Cortex, although she refused to watch reality television anymore, as she explained to Gabriel one night. "I've had enough of that go se for a lifetime!"

Gabriel and Reagan always socialized at the end of the day though, and the two mostly talked about what their children, and the other crew members of Serenity, got up to during the day as the two elder Tams watched movies together in their room. As far as the elder Tams could determine, Mal and Inara spent most of their time in their private room, or walking around the hydro-botanical garden section of the space station, while Kaylee and Simon alternated between spending time together in the engine room, or doing so silently in the med bay while Simon either took care of Jayne, or checked up on River. Nobody really knew what Zoe got up to during this time, although she and Mattie occasionally talked at mealtimes and were seen walking the hallways of the Skyplex together.

Gabriel Tam was still thinking about the events of the past few days when he arrived at the space station's med-bay, only to find Kaylee, unaccompanied by Simon this time, watching Jayne and River, who were both sleeping that late in the space stations day cycle, from their medical cot and mattress, respectfully. "Miss Frye. I'm surprised to see you here unaccompanied by my son. Have you came to check on my patient?"

Kaylee nearly jumped at the sound of Gabriel Tam behind her, but quickly put on a brave face and nodded "Yeah. Him...and River. I hope you don't mind me checking in on your daughter.. I was just worried is all, since she won't leave this room. Except the one time, and that was only because the captain and Zoe threatened to hose her down if she didn't at least leave long enough to take a shower, before she started stinking up the med bay.."

Gabriel chuckled at the particular memory. "Yes. Your captain seems better with tough love than I have ever been with my children. Anyway, I certainly don't mind that you care enough about my daughter's well-being to check up on her every now and again. Actually, from what Simon has told me, you and River have become close friends since my children got on board your ship, and I think that's just shiny."

Kaylee raised her right eyebrow a little bit. "Really? I thought you and your wife didn't like me very much."

Gabriel sighed. "Actually, that's exactly what I wanted to...converse with you about several days ago. I don't think Reagan ever had any problems with you. Honestly, I think my wife was just glad that our son had managed to stay in a relationship with a girl for longer than the course of an evening. And not for lack of trying, either. As I'm sure you noticed by now, Simon seems to have the unfortunate tendency to say exactly the wrong thing to a woman at any given moment."

Kaylee chuckled. "I'll say! If I had a platinum for every time Simon said something that put a bee in someone's bonnet, I'd be rich enough to buy the the whole of planet Bellorophon!"

Kaylee's eyes widened and her mouth opened a little bit as she quickly added. "Of course, your son is shiny in all kinds of other ways, Dr. Tam. He's smart, proper, handsome, and his heart's in the right place. And when he's not too busy tripping over his words, Simon can actually be quite charming..."

Gabriel laughed. "I get the wave, Miss Frye. I'm will aware of my son's tendencies to put his foot in his mouth around the fairer sex. I wouldn't have brought the subject up otherwise. And I'm actually glad that you're so taken with my son. But I will admit that, for a time, I had my reservations about your relationship with Simon."

Kaylee frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah. Mrs. Tam told me that you thought I was some kind of platinum digger that only was only interested in Simon because he was a doctor that came from a wealthy family. Well, let me tell you something, Dr. Tam! I may not dress or talk as shiny as your kind of people do, but that don't make me some kind of doxy! I don't care one bit about how much money your family has! I'm with your son because I gorram love him! Dohn-ma?"

Kaylee was about to storm off in a huff when Gabriel sighed and nodded. "Dohn. I know. You made that inescapably clear when you got in between Simon and that mercenaries gun. That was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen a human being do..."

Kaylee had stopped walking at this point, but she still had her arms crossed over her chest, and her back to Gabriel, as she cut the older man off. "Gee, thanks."

"But your actions that day still proved that you genuinely care about my son, And as Simon's father, I'm grateful for your attempt to protect him, as ill-conceived and unnecessary as the attempt itself was."

Kaylee turned towards the Tam patriarch and sighed. "You're welcome. And just so you know, I would do the same thing again.."

Gabriel Tam nodded. "I know. But I hope such a situation never arises again. And to be honest, I never actually thought you were after my son's money, seeing as he doesn't have any after he threw his career as a doctor on Osiris away, and spent every last credit he had, rescuing River from that gorram Academy. That was just something I told me wife so she wouldn't think I had my head up my pi gu. The truth is, I was afraid that you and Simon were too...different."

Kaylee glared at Simon's father. "Why, because I'm a mechanic from a Border planet, and not some high class girl from the Core?"

Gabriel Tam sighed. "In a word, yes. Like I said, I had my head up my pi gu. And I...I'm sorry."

Kaylee's glare softened into a small smile as the Tam patriarch continued speaking "But I'm not so stubborn that I can't admit that I've been wrong. In the time I've seen you two together, I...well, I have never seen my son quite this happy before. And I've seen firsthand that you're willing to put his needs ahead of your own, when necessary. Reagan and I always hoped that Simon would find somebody who possessed that kind of selflessness. Because, whatever faults he may have, my son has always been more of a giver than a taker in his relationships to others."

Kaylee nodded. "I know. I...I always thought that it's really shiny, the way he looks out for River. And the way he works tirelessly when one of Serenity's crew is sick or injured, until somebody forces him to get some sleep."

Gabriel smiled. "Yes. Simon has the unfortunate habit of giving too much of himself sometimes, and forgetting to focus on his own needs. His mother says he got that from me. Thankfully, I have her to remind me that I need food, sleep...and other things from time to time, just like everyone else. Reagan is a remarkable woman, that way. And now, it seems, my son is in equally capable hands."

The Tam patriarch sighed as he looked into the med bay to gaze upon his daughter, who was still sleeping on her mattress next to Jayne. "I just hope that my daughter has been equally wise in her choice of paramour.. From what I've seen so far of this Jayne fellow, I rather doubt it."

Kaylee sighed. "Thank you. But just so you know, Jayne's not all bad. I know he has a gruff exterior at times, but he can be gentle when he wants to be. And he's sort of the black sheep of our little family of miscreants, so he knows what it's like to be an outsider, almost as much as River does. I'm just saying, give the man a chance, and he might surprise you. I did."

Gabriel Tam smiled pleasantly and nodded as Kaylee left for her and Simon's quarters for the evening. Before the mechanic had even vanished around the corner, Gabriel Tam was walking into the med bay to check on his patient...and his daughter. After changing Jayne's bandages and making sure the man was comfortable and properly hydrated, the older man tucked his daughter in for the evening and smiled as he whispered "You always did thrash around in the middle of the night. Your mother and I used to worry you would catch your death of cold, because you kept kicking your covers off in your sleep. I guess you still haven't kicked that habit."

Gabriel Tam sighed. The Tam patriarch wasn't sure if he was talking to River, or himself when he added "I know your mother and I have been overprotective with you and Simon lately. We don't mean to be so controlling, we just...Your mother and I just miss you both. We miss being part of your lives. Being able to protect you from the dangers of the 'Verse. And I know that Reagan and I gave those rights away when we sent you to the Academy. And neither one of us will ever forgive ourselves for that. But your mother and I will never stop loving you or your brother, no matter how much time passes, or where you go in the 'Verse. I just...I hope you still know that. Goodnight, River."

Gabriel continued to watch his daughter sleep for just a few seconds more, long enough to see his daughter smile in her sleep. The Tam patriarch then walked over to Jayne's unconscious form and whispered. "As for you...I hope for your sake, that my daughter and Kaylee's faith in you had not been misplaced. Because I know I can't stop my River from loving you. But if you abuse her trust in anyway, if you hurt my little girl, Simon will tell me about it. And if that happens, there won't be a power in that 'Verse that could stop me from having you hunted down.. Good night, Mr. Cobb."

Gabriel Tam didn't see it, as he walked out of the med bay to join his wife in their quarters, but as the Tam patriarch left the room, Jayne shuddered in his sleep at the very same moment that River smiled.

 **AN: Well, this is it, the end of another chapter. I'm sorry that there's not more to it, but various RL difficulties have been getting in the way of me writing this story lately, so I feel like I rushed this chapter out in an attempt to get this to you all by the end of January. I will do my best to make the next chapter a little more substantial. In the meantime, I would like to thank all of my readers for supporting this story, especially Hawki, Mondantz, bjq, Wicked. Onna, K1P1, and galwidanatitud, who have reviewed my last chapter as of the time of this writing! Thank you for your feedback and support!**

 **A special thanks once again goes out to Hawki, for allowing me to borrow elements from their Firefly story, "Seven Deadly Sins" (which I highly recommend) to inform my take on the Operative. And yes, the name that River whispered into the (ex)Operative's ear was Miranda.**

 **And as always, a very special thank you goes out to my beta-reader, who keeps my writing as shiny as possible! You rock! As always, until next time, I am...**

 **-supercode**


	12. Aftermath: Part 2

**Author's note: This chapter contains some sexual situations. Although this story will not go into gratuitous detail with such scenes, I have decided to change this story's rating to "M", just to be safe.**

The first thing that Jayne Cobb saw when the dreams stopped was darkness.

The mercenary was confused by the abrupt transition at first. After weeks, months, perhaps even years (for the mercenary hadn't had any concept of time since blood loss had forced him into an unconscious state) of frantic mental activity, Jayne's mind didn't know how to handle the sensory deprivation caused by his own closed eyelids. However, after shaking loose the cobwebs of numerous memories, including the time a young Jayne had broken his arm by falling off a tree, walking Mattie to school on the very first day of the younger brother's primary education, and even "the Hero of Canton's" first kill (a serial killer/rapist that a teenage Jayne had been hired to track down by the villagers of a small town on the planet Silverhold), Jayne was finally able to regain his bearings enough to open his eyes.

Unfortunately, since the pleas of the rapist, a Mr. R.R. Muller to "Please don't kill me! I'll give you anything you want! Anything!", as well as Jayne's response, which had come only in the form of the young mercenary's gun firing with a loud BANG! after several seconds of shaking hands, and hesitation on young Jayne's part, were still on adult Jayne's mind, Jayne didn't realize what he was looking at right away. Seeing the face of the young woman who had been the subject of many of his nightmares (as well as some of his more intimate dreams) since she had left a permanent mark on his chest, alongside a familiar glint of steel, Jayne quickly sat up in his bed in the Skyplex's med-bay and grunted. "Gorramit, crazy! I thought we had a truce!"

River looked up from her position seated on the mattress next to Jayne's medical cot and glared slightly at the mercenary. "She means her mate no harm. But man-called-Jayne shouldn't try to get up yet. His wounds are healed, but his muscles are weak, atrophied, because ghuh-ghuh gave him too much medicine, and he slumbered a long time.. He must relearn to crawl before he runs."

Jayne shook his head as he recognized the wooden sculpture in River's hands. The one that the mercenary had originally started carving at the villa. However, upon closer inspection, Jayne realized that the half-formed wooden object that he had abandoned in his room the day that the black armored thugs had tried to kill him, River, and Serenity's crew was not in the same shape he had left it in. Instead, the object in River's hands was a fully formed, intricate model of a large bird. Jayne chuckled. "Oh, so that's what you were doing!"

River's glare intensified. "She said she would not harm him again. Why does he not believe her!? She recovered man-called-Jayne's personal effects. Confiscated the blade from Niska's goons. They aren't very smart, especially the big one. Man-called-Jayne's other things are safe, but the River wanted to make sure the man's work was finished on time."

River smiled and quickly jumped to her feet, then sat down next to Jayne on the man's large medical cot so he could get a better look a the wooden bird in her hand. " Man-called-Jayne was going to surprise her with this on her birthday, because he still felt bad after he argued with her in the bar that day. He was not to blame for her actions then, but she appreciates the sentiment. Kaylee and ghuh-ghuh got the River some strawberries, birth mother sewed her a new dress, birth father got the crazy girl a book of fairy tales, with legends dating all the way back to earth that was, months ago, and the rest of her family chipped into buy her some more comfortable shoes that she can fight in off one of the mercenaries at the bad man's satellite.."

River put one of her feet next to Jayne's head, showing off one of the lightweight, but sturdy leather shoes that she was wearing, even as she made a face. "She still prefers to have her limbs unencumbered, but these are better than most of the foot blockers she has been forced to endure, and Captain daddy says I will have to start wearing them when I'm not on the ship, so..."

Jayne started to rise from his bed again. "You still ain't making no gorram sense! Your birthday's still days away! Now, if you won't tell me where we we are, or how we got here, I'm gonna..."

But River quickly pinned Jayne to the bed with her arms, and the weakened Jayne was powerless resist as the psychic rolled her eyes and said. "He is not listening! Space is irrelevant, only time matters! Today is the girl's birthday! And man-called-Jayne made her the best present of all!"

River placed the wooden bird in Jayne's right hand and smiled. "He knew that she liked being called Albatross by Captain daddy! So man-called-Jayne took her avatar and made it real!"

Jayne, still somewhat woozy, shook his head. "No. I never finished that. You must have..."

River rapidly shook her head and laughed. "The River knows how to fly, not work wood. That is shiah hwa! Man-called-Jayne did all the carving..."

River tapped her right index finger against Jayne's head. "In here.. Man-called-Jayne's thoughts guided the Albatross' in his dreams.. His mind and her hands. Only together could they make the nebulous solid to create an image in her likeness. He helped her make that which was incomplete become whole. The Albatross will forever be grateful for this."

Jayne pondered River's words as he inspected the wood carving in his hands. The small, wooden representation of an albatross perfectly matched up with the image that the mercenary had envisioned when he had started making the carving, and was an exact replica of the wooden object he had finished shaping in many of his dreams. But when the mercenary looked up at the expectant hazel eyes which were watching him with rapt attention, he knew he couldn't give the crazy girl the satisfaction of knowing how good a job she had done. Where would be the fun in that? "Well, for your first wood carving, you did...okay. You were able to do all of that just from plucking an image from my mind?"

River nodded. "Yes. But her hands are not as practiced as man called Jayne's. She knows that he could have made it better. He can improve upon the design for her, if he wishes to. But she is satisfied with what they built together."

Jayne shook his head. "Don't be yu bun duh! I was only fooling with you! You might as well as ask me to improve the Venus of Willendorf. That's the old statue without arms, right?"

River laughed. "That's the Venus de Milo! She has never seen it, or it's likeness, but the girl...the woman has read that it was one of the most beautiful works of art on Earth that was! Some stories say that it's beauty was without equal, despite it's intentionally imperfect design..."

River smiled widely as she readjusted herself on the medical cot, so that her face was inches away from Jayne's. An in that moment, as the mercenary looked into the big hazel eyes, complete with half-moon shaped circles over them, of the self-proclaimed "crazy" brunette in front of him, who had sacrificed her sanity to be something both more and less than most people, Jayne couldn't help but feel he was looking at a work of art more beautiful than any work of wood, stone, or canvas had ever been. River's smile widened in that moment, and as if to respond to Jayne's thoughts (which, for all the mercenary knew, the psychic may have been doing on purpose), the brunette said. "But to her, this..."

River took the wooden Albatross in her own hands, threw the sculpture up in such a way that it spun as it rose a short distance into the air, then spun the opposite direction when the artificial gravity in Niska's Skyplex pulled it back down toward the med bay floor. For just a moment, as the wooden sculpture's trajectory shifted, Jayne could have sworn that the Albatross' wings had moved slightly of their own accord, and that the the "bird" was actually flying. However, the moment quickly passed, and the sculpture landed in River's petite hands less than half a second later. Even so, the mercenary knew that the memory of the "flying Albatross" would forever remain with him, even as the woman who had made the sculpture take flight smiled at Jayne and finished speaking. "Is the most beautiful work of art the woman has ever seen. Because man-called-Jayne made it for her with her own hands. She will treasure it always."

Jayne nodded, and his throat suddenly became dry as River carefully leaned over the edge of the bed, causing her shirt to ride up as she gently placed the wooden sculpture on her mattress on the floor, and the mercenary's cheeks were red by the time River had drawn herself back onto the cot and laid her head on the pillow right in front of Jayne. As River grinned at him in that moment, Jayne couldn't help but feel that the girl...no, woman in front of him, would one day be the death of him as he found himself speaking without thinking. "Actually, I uh...I can think of one thing that's even prettier than that carving.."

Jayne tried to look away then, as his words suddenly failed him. The mercenary mentally berated himself for become so tongue tied in front of someone who was barely a woman, when Jayne had no problem telling many a whore how attractive he found them in very colorful language. But the mercenary instinctively knew that his usual bedside manner would not fly with River, and that even thinking about River in comparison to common doxies was somehow wrong. However, the large man lacked the vocabulary in that moment to describe what he was feeling to the sexy, no more than that, the beautiful, woman in front of him.

Jayne's worried thoughts were soon swept away, however, by the spark in River's eyes as she replied. "She understands what he means. The albatross can fly into man-called-Jayne's thoughts...and his heart. And she is glad he feels...I am glad you feel, that way about me..."

Jayne's heart rate increased as River put her hand on top of the man's bare chest. The mercenary cleared his throat as he said. "Yeah? And why would that be?"

The psychic leaned towards Jayne's ear and whispered. "Because the girl has become woman, a fact now recognized on every planet in the 'Verse. And she wants a man...a man called Jayne, to be her mate now."

Within moments, River's lips were upon Jayne's, and this time, the mercenary didn't pull away as he let himself surrender to the moment. At first, River's movements were erratic, tongue and lip going all over and around Jayne's own lips as the inexperienced and overly excited psychic struggled to properly kiss the mercenary. Jayne gently took River's head in both his hands, however, and he guided River's mouth towards his own and pressed his lips against hers. Eventually, River relaxed into the kiss and gently pressed her lips back against the mercenary's for several seconds. After five seconds of this tame osculation, River pulled away from Jayne and smiled. "For one who doesn't usually kiss on the mouth, man-called-Jayne is quite proficient at it!"

Jayne gave River a half-smile.. "I haven't always had a no kissing rule, crazy girl. Now, do you want to ask me more gorram questions, or do you want me to teach you how to kiss properly?"

River grinned, and she was just about to open her mouth to speak, when her eyes went vacant for several seconds, and Jayne had to gently shake River's shoulder to snap her out of it. The psychic then shook her head and turned to look at Jayne with wide, hazel eyes. "She is sorry. The River did not mean to flow so deeply into his thoughts again, but she couldn't help it! She saw her, the girl with blonde hair and green eyes that boy-called-Jayne once knew. He kissed her once, and heart met heart when lips met lips. But she broke boy-called-Jayne's heart. He say her kissing another boy behind a fence after school. Afterwards, boy-called-Jayne swore he would never kiss another girl again. Not after Sa..."

Jayne shook his head and gently drew River's face to within inches of his own. "It ain't your fault if your brain-pan has its own will sometimes, but you don't need to say her name. That was a long gorram time ago, and I rarely give that meh lien duh jyah jee a thought now, so there's no use dwelling on the past. I'm here with you now, and you sure as go se aren't her.

River shook her head. "No she is...I am not her. She...I promise I will not break your heart like that foolish girl did."

Jayne gulped as River gently rubbed Jayne's chest with her hands over the man's medical gown, in the exact same place she had slashed the man with a knife several months ago, then looked Jayne in the eyes and spoke. "The River will never hurt the man-called-Jayne again."

Jayne sighed, the looked away. "You shouldn't make promise you can't keep."

River frowned at Jayne and shook her head. "No! Man called Jayne is her mate, and she will never hurt or leave him! The choice has been made, the die has been cast, and the Albatross mates for life! Man-called-Jayne belongs to the River, and the current will never let him go as long as he is willing to brave the rapids and stay between the shores!"

Jayne looked at River, then shook his head. "River, ..."

But the rest of that sentence never left the mercenary's lips, as Jayne's mouth suddenly found it being attacked by another wave of River's osculations. But this time, the kissing was different. Rougher, more forceful, but somehow, more controlled. It was only after over a minute of River kissing him, during which time she had forcefully pressed her mouth to Jayne's, opened her mouth to the mercenary and moved her tongue against Jayne's in seductive manner that a woman taking part in her second kiss ever had no right to know how to pull off, and the psychic had pulled away slightly to nibble and suck on Jayne's bottom lip, that Jayne finally figured out what was going on. River was kissing Jayne in a way that the mercenary had often kissed River...in his dreams about the brunette. And Jayne knew that should make him upset. That River must be actively reading his mind to do that. But at the moment, he was too wrapped up in lust and...other feelings, to care.

The mercenary did mind, however, when River put her right hand underneath his hospital gown, then started moving south. Jayne shook his head and put his hand on River's wrist to draw the young woman's hand away from his manhood. "No. I ain't rutting on no gorram hospital bed!"

River shook her head. "But ghuh-ghuh said you should stay on this bed until..."

Jayne rolled his eyes and sighed. "I don't care what he said! If I'm spry enough for rutting, then I'm spry enough to get out of this gorram bed! Besides, I don't want you mentioning your brother when you want to be rutting, no how."

River shook her head rapidly, then put her head in her hands. "She understands the man's meaning! She had killed the mood! Man called Jayne will never want to be the woman's mate now!"

Tears began to come out of River's hazel eyes, and Jayne sighed. The mercenary had never been good around crying women, even ones, like Kaylee, who he didn't have any sexual interest in (despite the occasional lewd joke that falsely gave a contrary impression). And around women that Jayne fancied, well, that just made things doubly confusing, as the mercenary's brain would get stuck somewhere between lust, and the fraternal instincts that he had developed back home, when Jayne hadn't been especially good at comforting his sisters when they were feeling sad, either.

But seeing River cry, especially after the mercenary had heard about the extent that the Alliance had messed with her brain pan, did things to Jayne's insides that the mercenary had never been comfortable with. Every time he saw the hazel-eyed young woman in distress since that day, the mercenary had to fight the urge to try to comfort the crazy girl. And sometimes, like the time that River had gone freaked out and fallen to the floor when she had sensed reavers coming, during what was supposed to be a routine bank robbery, his better instincts had failed him, and Jayne had found himself rushing to the aid of the feng le who had once threatened to kill him with her brain.

Now that Jayne knew that River, for reasons the mercenary was sure he would never be able to fathom, had took a shining to him, the man's protective instincts towards the craziest gorram woman that Jayne had ever known had become even stronger. And this time, as he watched moisture fall from River's hazel eyes, the mercenary found he did not have the will to resist the urge to wipe the tears from the brunette's face. "Hey now, there's no need for foolish talk like that. A man would have to gorram feng le not to want..."

Jayne scrunched up his nose in thought, but the best the relatively uneducated man could come up with was, "You know...someone like you. I still don't understand why you would take to fancying a hwen dan like me, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want you in my bed..."

The mercenary shook his head. "That came out wrong. I didn't mean that I just want you for sexing..I just meant..."

River smiled at the mercenary's clumsy attempts to explain his feelings, but the psychic took pity on the man and interrupted. "She understands what he meant. Also, she will not mention Simon again when trying to become intimate with her mate."

Jayne nodded. "That would make things easier, yeah. Is there a room in this place where we could, you know, get more comfortable?"

River smiled at Jayne's seductive tone of voice, and, after the genius had done something to the machines monitoring Jayne's vitals so that the doctors Tam would not be made aware if Jayne left his medical cot, the psychic helped unhook the mercenary from the medical equipment and helped the large man off of the bed. "I think...I know a place..."

River giggled as she lead Jayne out the room, completely ignoring several of Niska's armed mercenaries that she and Jayne passed in the hallways, despite Jayne's protests. "Wait. I don't even have on proper underthings! And who the hell are these hwen dans?"

River shook her head as she continued to forcefully lead the mercenary by the hand. "Just mercs hired by the bad old man. Man-called-Jayne shouldn't worry, as long as we don't try to leave the satellite of death, hired guns will not ruin their fun!"

Jayne's face turned pale, but he found himself unable to resist River's surprisingly strong grip as she continued to pull him through sterile metal hallways. "Bad old man? Satellite of death?! Wait a second, I recall this gorram place. This is Niska's rutting Skyplex!"

River released her hold on Jayne's hand, sighed, then turned around while rolling her eyes. "She told him that their location in space was unimportant! Elder Tams and family seeking serenity are safe here. That is all man-called-Jayne needs to know right now! Now is the not the time for talking! It is time for the man and the River to become one flesh!"

River took Jayne's hand again, then she practically dragged him from one short hallway to the next as she ran. Jayne stumbled along as best he could, and River had lean against Jayne to keep him from tripping and and falling on his face several times. Despite his own post-coma clumsiness however, Jayne continued to follow River as best he could, for two reasons. One, Jayne had long ago realized that when River actually focused her mind enough to really want something, she always found a way to get it, eventually. Sometimes, this made the psychic come across as capable and determined. Other times, River's unyielding nature made her seem like a brat. But either way, Jayne had learned long ago that it was usually best to go along with River's crazy notions when she got a desire stuck in her head.

The other reason that Jayne continued to let River lead him through Niska's Skyplex at a break neck pace was far simpler. Despite the fact that he knew rutting around with River would probably be one of the worst decisions he could ever make in a life filled with poor decision making, in this moment, Jayne couldn't help but be captivated by the smile on River's lips, and fire the fire in her eyes, whenever she would turn back to make sure Jayne had made it around a turn without losing his balance. And, also, Jayne admitted to himself with a grin, the fact that running behind River gave him a great view of the woman's ass didn't hurt either. A fact that the psychic apparently knew all to well, considering the way she was twirling her hips in much more seductive manner than she usually did when she walked or ran.

Jayne's thoughts were interrupted, however, when River suddenly stopped in the middle of one hallway, causing a "distracted" Jayne to run right into the person he had just been admiring. Thankfully, however, River had quickly recovered her balance by leaning against a wall for support. The psychic turned to Jayne with a mischievous grin on her face that indicated she knew exactly what part of her body the mercenary had been busy admiring when he had run into her, but the expression soon morphed into a frown. "Rerouting. Unforeseen impediments on current route. They must engage evasive maneuvers to avoid unwanted questioning."

After a couple more seconds, River suddenly smiled and added. "Alternate route selected."

River then quickly took Jayne's hand again and dragged him in a direction opposite the one she and Jayne had been going. Before the mercenary could ask what game River was playing at, he heard the distinct sound of Simon Tam's voice, coming from the hallway he and River had vacated only about thirty seconds ago. "I can't believe that hwen dan would just up and leave his bed like that, before I even gave him a preliminary exam to make sure he is well enough to walk! Oh, wait, this is Jayne we're talking about, of course he did! In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if he wasn't taking advantage of River's infatuation of him right right this second..."

Jayne didn't see River rolling her eyes and making funny faces as she silently mouthed Simon's words at the same time her brother said them. The psychic and the mercenary only heard the first part of Reagan Tam's reply to her son's words before the Tam matriarch's words were out of earshot. "Now, Simon, you said yourself that Jayne would probably be fine to walk after the neuron-stimulation therapy you and your father administered while he was asleep. And, as of today, River's old enough to make her own choices..."

Jayne was so busy being relieved that he and River hadn't been spotted by Simon or Reagan that he didn't notice it when he and the psychic entered the same hallway that Kaylee happened to be walking in until he was passing within inches of the blushing mechanic. And it was only at that moment that Jayne remembered that he was still in his gorram hospital gown, which left the mercenary rear somewhat exposed. Before Jayne could open up his mouth to explain himself as he covered his rear, however, River smiled at Kaylee and said, "The woman will be taking her fully healed mate to the master bedroom for birthday rutting! She would would prefer it if Serenity's caretaker did not tell her ghuh ghuh what she is doing, or all fun could be ruined!"

Kaylee forced a smile. "Sure. That...that's just shiny! Glad you're awake again Jayne! Have fun having sex!"

River smiled at the mechanic before grasping Jayne's hand again, then shouting over her shoulder as she attempted to drag Jayne to their destination. "Much fun will be had! The River and man-called- Jayne will fly, and fly, and fly again, never crashing down to the ground, just as birds of a feather do!"

Before River and Jayne proceeded down the hallway, however, Kaylee tapped the mercenary on the shoulder, and the big man planted his feet long enough to hear the mechanic whisper in his ear. "River has a dear heart. Don't break it. Dohn-ma?

Jayne nodded and back and whispered "Dohn."

And that was all the mercenary had time to say before River was dragging him through the maze of hallways again. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the mercenary and the psychic came across a large metal door with an electronic keypad next to it on the wall.

River smiled as she punched in a six digit code into the keypad, causing the door to quickly open upwards from the ground. The psychic shook her head and mock sighed. "Bad old man is smart enough to run an empire of blood and credits, but he uses his wife's birthday as a pass-code"

The psychic laughed and said in sing-song tune. "Not smart! Bad old man must be going senile!"

River then took Jayne's hand and led the mercenary into one of the most opulent rooms he had ever seen. The king-sized bed had a base and headboard that seemed to be made entirely of gold, and had silk sheets, the carpet was made of a very fine looking red material, there were several pieces of jewelry and fine wigs on mannequins, and there were expensive looking paintings on each of the rooms four walls, as well as the oak bedside table and dresser in the room. The mercenary didn't recognize most of them, but one picture of a smiling woman did catch his eye. Jayne briefly felt the urge to steal the painting, but his strong instinct for self-preservation stayed his head.

Jayne shook his head as he stood in front of the painting of the smiling woman. "Well, gorram! I've seen that picture in one of Mattie's old books! Mal's gonna throw a fit when he finds out someone actually did manage to fence the Mona Lisa!"

River sighed. "Sadly, no. She is only a very good replica. Original accidentally left behind on Earth that was. A fact well-documented and bemoaned by art historians. Fortunately, many good replicas are still extant. This one still has the original's nice smile..."

Jayne shrugged. "I guess so."

The mercenary couldn't help but think he's seen better, however, when River turned away from the painting and back towards Jayne with a large grin on her face. "Shall we commence rutting now?"

Jayne gulped. "That's why we're here right? Can I have some gorram clothes when we're done?"

River chuckled. "She promises he will get more suitable garments later. But right now, man-called- Jayne is overdressed for the occasion." As if it was trying to prove River's point, the door to Niska's private bedroom closed and locked automatically.

The psychic walked towards Jayne, then quickly brought her arms around and behind the mercenary. Then, quicker than Jayne could blink, the back of his medical gown was untied, and the garment was falling to the floor. River smiled as she walked around Jayne, looking the naked man over in a way that Jayne wasn't entirely comfortable with. "Crazy...River. What are you playing at?"

River abruptly stopped walking once she had walked all the way around the mercenary. River frowned. "The gir...woman is unfamiliar with social protocol involving coitus. She is sorry if she offended man-called-Jayne, but she wanted to see her mate naked with her own eyes before they...Before we, commence rutting."

Jayne frowned. "What do you mean with your own eyes..." But then the mercenary remembered the part of his talk with River at Niska's villa where River mentioned that she had accidentally invaded some of his erotic dreams about her. It was at that very moment that River grinned and looked right at Jayne, implying that she knew he now understood what she had been talking about.

The psychic's smile widened when she said "Man-called-Jayne has more scars in real life, and he...embellishes certain aspects of his physique in his mind..." River looked pointedly at an area below Jayne's waist to make her meaning clear, and Jayne had to resist the urge to cover that part of his anatomy as River continued speaking. "But man called Jayne still looks shinier outside of Morpheus' realm. The woman is...I am..most pleased."

Jayne shivered. "Well, that's just shiny. But a man gets cold standing around in his birthday sui.."

Before Jayne had even finished speaking, River Tam had somehow managed to take off her dress, and the mercenary found he couldn't quite remember what he was going to say as he took in the sight of the half-naked brunette in front of him. River shook her head at Jayne as the mercenary struggled to keep his jaw from dropping. "Man-called-Jayne is silly. It is her birthday, not his. But the birthday girl knows how to keep her man warm."

Jayne was just about to ask what River was talking about when the psychic gently pushed Jayne backward just hard enough to knock the mercenary off his feet. Jayne was about to cry out, when he felt his back hit a big, soft object. It was only then that the mercenary realized that, for the second time in recent memory, River had maneuvered him towards a bed without him realizing it, and for the exact same purpose.

Before Jayne's thoughts could dwell on River tricking him again much, however, River had literally jumped onto the opposite side of the bed. In a flash, the psychic was literally on top of him, with her nimble legs straddling either side of his stomach. The psychic gave Jayne a look that was simultaneously lustful and playful before she bent her head down and whispered in Jayne's ear. "The birthday girl has been patient long enough, don't you think?"

The psychic didn't give the mercenary time to answer before she leaned her lips towards Jayne to give him another deep kiss. Once again, the mercenary was powerless to resist the girl-turned woman's soft lips on his own rougher ones. Once again, the mercenary broke his promise to himself to never kiss a woman on the mouth. And once again, tongue met tongue, lips met lips, and heart met heart. All too soon, however, the moment passed, as River pulled away from Jayne with a smile.

Jayne's disappointment did not last long, however, as River put her hands on her plain, white bra. River frowned for a moment. "She knows her underthings are plain as unbuttered bread. But she will endeavor to find items more appealing to man-called-Jayne in the future. The woman hopes...I hope, you still find me shiny to gaze upon." The young woman then took off her bra, revealing her bare breasts to Jayne.

The mercenary gulped. "Don't worry, you look...well, very nice without fancy underwear."

River smiled as she guided one of Jayne's hands towards her left breast. "She has read a lot about the physical act of love, and knows how to induce pleasure in both herself and her mate. Touch me like this."

As River guided Jayne's hands with one of her own, her other hand maneuvered its way down to her panties. In a process that took several minutes and a great deal of flexibility, River managed to shed her remaining undergarment without moving Jayne's hand away from her. The psychic then looked down at Jayne and grinned as she started moving her right hand down Jayne's body, starting from the man's chest, but heading ever southward.

Before River's hand could reach its intended destination, however, Jayne grabbed her wrist with his left hand to stop her. "Stop."

River's face scrunched up in a look that indicated she was simultaneously confused and on the verge of tears.. "She doesn't understand. Does man-called-Jayne not want her? He said he did!"

Jayne sighed as he thought of a way to explain his actions. "No. That ain't it at all. I just..." The mercenary struggled to put his thoughts into words. To explain it weren't right for a woman to look as beautiful as River did when she was naked, and still have such an innocent look about her in her eyes and smile. To make River understand that he hadn't earned the trust in River's hazel orbs, or the way those eyes looked at him so lovingly as the physic straddled Jayne's stomach, naked as...well, as the day he had first laid eyes upon her. How, in the moment before River's hand had...touched him, Jayne's traitorous mind had reminded him of all the times he had insulted River. All the times he had betrayed her. Convincing the captain to leave her and her brother behind on Jiangyn. Selling the Tams out to the Feds on Ariel. Trying to ditch River on Beaumonde after she had injured him at the Maidenhead. All of the reasons that Jayne did not deserve River.

The mercenary shook his head. "I just...I think this is a bad idea. For you. I mean. I just..."

River shook her head. " Man-called-Jayne's surface cognitions are like eggs. Scrambled. She does not understand. But she could, if he let her."

Jayne grimaced. "I don't know what you're talking about."

River nodded. "But man-called-Jayne will understand. If he opens the door when she knocks. He can trust her with himself."

Jayne was about to open his mouth to reply that he still didn't know what River was jawing about when he felt a presence in the back of his mind, A gentle nudge from a mind not his own, requesting entry to Jayne's innermost thoughts, but not forcing its way in. Jayne turned to River, who was staring right at him with a gentle intensity, and he knew right then that River was requesting entry into his mind. For a moment, Jayne thought of refusing her, because the thought of someone else sorting through his thoughts and memories seemed somewhat creepifying. On the other hand, the mercenary knew that if River saw every dirty thought that had ever run through his head, every bad thing he had ever done, and reminded her of every time he had betrayed the psychic, she would finally see him for the man he was. Finally understand that she deserved better.

Therefore, after a moment's hesitation, as Jayne's stomach tied up in knots at the thought that River would probably hate him in a minute or so, even as the rational part of the mercenary recognized that would still not be as bad as him breaking her heart later, Jayne followed River's instructions as literally as possible. The mercenary imagined River standing on one side of a door, with himself on the other. Jayne then visualized himself unlocking and opening the door to River, and braced himself for the rejection he knew was coming soon.

As he felt River's mind meld with his own, and felt the concern, affection, and trust the psychic had for him, the mercenary couldn't help but feel guilty that he was about to take all of that away from the girl, and probably whatever innocence she still had left with it, as Jayne summoned up memories of every bad thing he's ever done. Every man he had ever killed. Every woman he had told he loved them when he didn't. Every lie. Every betrayal. Every time Jayne had fallen short of the few ideals he held himself to. But instead of condemnation, as every bad memory came and went through his and River's minds, Jayne received only understanding and forgiveness from River as the psychic thought, over and over again. 'She can see the motivations behind his faults, and she understands why he did this thing. And she forgives him.'

By the time River was done sorting through all of the bad things the mercenary could remember having done at the moment, Jayne was overwhelmed by the amount of acceptance and forgiveness he had received from River. So the mercenary was embarrassed, but not surprised, when he realized there were tears in his eyes after River withdrew her thoughts away from Jayne just enough that he could use his physical senses again, and River said. "Don't worry. I will not tell the others that man called Jayne's eyes rained." Then the psychic delved into his thoughts again and flooded him with memories from her own mind,

Memories of the Academy, where scientist had tested River's conditioning by using subliminal messages to trigger her combat protocols, forcing River's body to kill several individuals that were brought before her, including an Alliance doctor who had a crisis of conscience and had attempted to leak the truth about the Academy to the public, even as her mind had screamed in protest about what her limbs were doing. After being shown these things, however, Jayne was quick to reassure River. 'That weren't your fault. You didn't kill those people, the hwen dans who brainwashed you did!'

River had mentally responded that. 'Their blood was still on her hands.' But Jayne could still feel relief emanating from the psychic at both Jayne's easy forgiveness of River's actions at the Academy, and the anger the mercenary felt at that moment for the Alliance scientists who had turned River into a weapon.

There were other memories as well. River showed Jayne the moment she had begged her parents to send her to the Academy, where the Alliance's brochure had promised River she would have "an unparalleled educational experience." In River's mind, this decision had been the moment that had ruined both her and Simon's futures. However, Jayne was quick to point out that. 'Smart or not, you were still an inexperienced little girl back then. There ain't no way you coulda known the Alliance's offer wasn't on the level. And besides, you and Simon didn't turn out so bad. He's sickeningly happy with Kaylee now, and you're the most bad-ass woman I know, even if you are a bit crazy!'

River followed Jayne's train of thought to it's logical conclusion, as she remembered killing a large number of reavers at Mr. Universe's satellite. The psychic shared memories with Jayne of running on adrenaline, using every close combat maneuver the Alliance had ever taught her, as well as her psychic abilities, to ruthlessly mow down wave after wave of the cannibalistic psychopaths. The psychic felt Jayne's admiration for this feat, but countered that admiration by sharing with the mercenary just a small portion of the fear, rage, and pain she had experienced vicariously through the reavers' thoughts as River scolded Jayne. 'She did not enjoy killing them. They had minds of their own! She felt every slice as she cut into them! Every punch or kick! She felt their fear as they bleed out on the floor! She did not want to kill them, but...'

'You did what you had to do.' Jayne gently reassured River. 'To save your brother, and the captain, and your friends. Besides, even if they had minds, those reavers weren't men no more, just mad dogs that needed to be put down. Killing them was a mercy.'

River was not so easily convinced, however, as she quickly flashed the mercenary with the memory of her hand hitting Jayne in the groin at the Maidenhead, even as her mind, once again, screamed at her body to stop. Then, River showed Jayne her memory of slashing him in the chest with a knife in Serenity's dining room in a fit of delirium and anger that her damaged mind had tried and failed to control. The mercenary could feel River's great sorrow as she recalled the two times she had seriously injured Jayne as she thought. 'Was she merciful then!?"

Jayne had mentally sighed then, even as his teeth physically clenched at the memory of the pain River had caused him 'We already talked about that. You weren't yourself at the Maidenhead, so that weren't your fault. And you weren't fully in control of your thoughts and actions back on Serenity, either, on account of what the purple bellies did to your brain. Not until you took us to Miranda, anyway."

When he felt River's mind start to wander towards the memory of millions dying on Miranda, Jayne quickly withdrew his mind a bit from River's so he could use his five senses again, then sat up and drew River into a deep kiss that lasted for almost a minute. After Jayne and River's mouths and tongues withdrew from each other, the mercenary took River's face in his hands and said. "Hey, you don't have to think about them no more. Those people got justice when we sent that wave to the 'Verse. Let their spirits rest, and live your own gorram life!"

River smiled and wiped away the tears that were still in Jayne's eyes from earlier as she said. "Man- called-Jayne is good at helping the woman ground her thoughts. She understands him even better now, and she knows she chose her mate well."

Jayne didn't know how to respond to that, so he drew the psychic into another make out session. The mercenary still wasn't sure that this was the right thing to do, but he was tired of fighting his feeling for the brunette who was now straddling his lap again. Tired of trying to convince the woman whose adoration he could feel through the mental link that was still open between him and the psychic as River started moving her own pelvis towards Jayne's. So the mercenary gave in.

The new lovers were quickly overwhelmed after Jayne and River were joined together, as the psychic link that was still partly open between the two of them meant Jayne could feel almost everything River felt at that moment, aside from a few unpleasant sensations that River held back from the mercenary. The psychic was also vicariously experiencing all of the mercenary's physical and emotional sensations.

All of the desire, pleasure, and another, more tender feeling that Jayne was afraid to name, and River didn't feel the need to label just yet, that Jayne and River were feeling was amplified by the echo of the same feelings in the other, until the psychic and the mercenary's thoughts, feelings, sensations, and even some memories, entwined closely together. In some moments, it was almost hard for River and Jayne to tell where their own thoughts, feelings and sensations ended, and their lover's began.

Finally, after several minutes, River was able to collect their thoughts enough to ask Jayne a question, although the psychic wasn't sure if she asked the question with her mouth or her mind. "She is sorry she didn't ask first. Is this okay?'

Jayne didn't even need the psychic connection between him and River, which the anxious psychic was starting to withdraw, to know that River was talking about keeping her mind connected to his while the two of them made love. Jayne had to suppress the urge to laugh at River's question, because Jayne wasn't about to withdraw from the connection with River that was making this moment the most intense sexual experience he had ever had. "Hell, yeah! Don't stop what you're doing!"

River smiled as she rejoined her mind with Jayne's, and the merc and the psychic continued making love. She appreciated both the intensity and the tenderness their psychic link brought them, as Jayne continued to use his connection to River to bring the psychic pleasure while still using some discretion to minimize the pain and discomfort the former virgin experienced during her first time, which River had psychically shielded him from. Several minutes later, River's discomfort and pain ceased entirely. Then, after her and Jayne had ceased sexual activity for a few minutes to clean up, the lovers started rutting all over again...

Over an hour later, River was lying in Jayne's arms, and the mercenary was staring at the ceiling of Niska's room, which had some weird painting on it that, as far as Jayne could tell, involved a naked younger man trying to the touch the index finger of an older man who was clothed in robes. Truth be told, Jayne had found the painting a might creepifying when he had first seen it, but the mercenary was not thinking about the painting now. River looked towards Jayne's eyes with a sleepy look in her own hazel orbs as she said. "What is man-called-Jayne thinking about now?"

Jayne laughed. "Don't you already know the answer to that, moonbrain?"

River shook her head slightly and smiled at the fond tone of voice Jayne used, turning an old insult into an affectionate nickname. "She is too tired. The River flows freely when the girl sleeps, the albatross can fly when she is awake and alert, but when the woman is merely tired, she cannot read others."

Jayne chuckled. "Now I know I've been spending too much time around you, seeing as I actually can actually understand what you're saying ...most of the time. You shouldn't trouble yourself too much with what I'm thinking, moonbrain. I ain't that interesting."

River smirked. "Clearly, she thinks otherwise, or Jayne would not be her mate."

Jayne sighed. "I suppose that's so. I just...I've been pondering over whether to tell you something. But even if I did...I'm not sure you'll believe what I'd have to say, on account that I've been careless with some of my words in the past. Concerning, you know, women folk."

River smiled and give Jayne a brief kiss, then said. "She...I love you too, Jayne. She knows man- called-Jayne has said the words in the past when he did not mean it, but this woman could see inside his heart and mind when they were one, and she knows that his feelings for her are true."

Jayne gulped. "Well, ain't that just shiny!"

River nodded, then yawned and closed her eyes as she said. "The woman is tired now. It is time for the river to flow into the land of Nod..."

Jayne smiled at the sight of River falling asleep on his chest, then suppressed a sigh so he would not wake the psychic up. In that moment, the mercenary still feared that his and River's new...whatever they were, would crash and burn before long, once she understand what kind of man he was, and that either Simon or Mal would personally insure that Jayne died in the aftermath of that fiery inferno. And there was no doubt in Jayne's mind that his new relationship to the mentally unstable brunette slumbering in his arms would bring him no end to trouble come the morning. But right now, in this moment, as Jayne allowed his right arm to fully rest across River's side, and his fingers to gently touch River's slender stomach, Jayne couldn't think of any type of trouble that he'd rather be in.

 **AN: Okay, I know there is no excuse for getting this chapter out so late, with so little content, but I will attempt to do so anyway. I apologize to all of my readers for the long delay between chapters, but, without going into detail, real life stuff just got in the way. That being said, I hope that at least most of you enjoyed this chapter, and the moment that many of you have been waiting for (and some of you have probably been dreading), the official consummation of Rayne! But please, readers, let me know what you really think of this chapter in a review! As always, thanks go out to all my readers for supporting this story, and a special thanks go out to Hawki, Mondtanz, and bjq, for reviewing my last chapter! And a very special thanks goes out to my beta reader! Without your encouragement, I probably would have given up on writing this story a long time ago.**

 **Also, my apologies to any ornithologist or art scholars reading this for anything I got wrong about birds or any famous works of art in this chapter. Please note that, 500 years in the future, any knowledge of artworks, or birds from our world might be a little sketchy. But any outright mistakes are my own.**

 **Thanks again for reading! Until next time, I am...**

 **-supercode**


	13. Aftermath: Part 3

...A little over an hour ago...

Mal took a sip of whiskey from a sparkling crystal glass he had "borrowed" from the bar on Niska's ship while he looked out the window of his and Inara's room on Niska's Skyplex The captain was smiling for three reasons. The first reason the captain was smiling was because, compared to the other guest rooms on the ship, his and Inara's window unquestionably had the shiniest view of the stars...a privilege the captain had pulled rank with the crew of Serenity to acquire. Although Niska's Skyplex didn't offer Malcolm or his crew anymore freedom than the Villa, and was less glamorous than that resort, the captain had to admit that the "satellite of death" had a much better view of the stars the captain had wanted to explore since he was a small child.

The second reason that Mal was smiling was standing behind him, right in front of the bed that he and the raven-haired (for some tufts of it had already started growing back now that the woman's treatments had come to a successful conclusion days ago) women has been sharing since their arrival on the Skyplex. The captain's smile widened as he took another sip of one of the cheapest brands of whiskey in the 'Verse, and thought to himself that somehow, the expensive glass did seem to make the brew he was drinking taste just a little bit better. 'Then again,' the captain thought to himself. "I am biased about these things."

Last but not least among the reasons that Malcolm Reynolds was smiling now was the fact that he and his crew were certainly going to drink every last drop of the alcohol in the Skyplex's "open bar". After all, the mercenaries currently guarding Serenity's crew and the elder Tams had informed the erstwhile cast of the recently "canceled" "Walking Alongside the Tams" that they could eat and drink for free in their newest "home". So naturally, everyone on Serenity's crew, even Simon, and the usually more tempered Inara, had been doing their best to make this "gift" as expensive as possible for the crime lord. At this point, it was one of Mal's fondest hopes that, between the expenses Niska had doubtlessly incurred having "Walking Alongside the Tams" broadcast to the 'Verse, the shootout at the Villa, during which all of Niska's men at that location (who had been promised a shiny bag of credits would be sent to all of their families if they died completing their job) had been killed protecting the Tams and Serenity's crew, the new merc crew that Niska had watching the cast members now, and the expenses that Serenity's crew were racking up on the Skyplex, that Niska's empire would suffer a financial collapse very soon. But not, Mal hoped, before he and his crew, his family, in point of fact, got paid the fortune they were promised.

Malcolm chuckled, knowing that it would be just his luck if Niska's estate became insolvent before the crew of Serenity could get paid. But his laughter was cut short by the words of the woman standing behind the captain. "Merciful Buddha! Mal, can you please try to keep your laughter down to a dull roar while I'm speaking to my friend on a wave..."

Malcolm smiled back at the grinning raven-haired woman in front of him. The captain was just starting to think how shiny it was that he and Inara had recently gotten to the point that they could have mild arguments without either one of them shouting or losing their temper when the blonde woman on the other end of the wave transmission smiled at Inara and said. "Wait! Mal? As in the infamous Captain Malcolm Reynolds that you repeatedly told me you weren't romantically involved with, is in your bedroom right now?'

Inara blushed, then shook her head. "Shydra, I can explain..."

Malcolm's grin widened as he stepped into view of the wave transmitter. "Doesn't seem like there's a need to explain anything. You caught us...Shydra, was it? Your friend Inara and I are a bona fide couple now!"

Inara closed her eyes and inhaled deeply to restrain her temper before she looked at Mal and said, "Mal, I don't think that it's appropriate for us to discuss our personal matters in front of..."

Mal frowned. "So, are you saying you don't want us to see each other anymore? Because I could move out right now if you want."

"Ta ma duh!", Inara cursed as she saw the slight uptick on Malcolm's lips that let her know the captain was fighting the urge to smile at the joke he was playing...at her expense. "You know very well that isn't what I meant..."

Shydra laughed on the other end of the line, bringing the couple's attention back to the room's viewing screen. "Wa de Tian A! Look at you two, already arguing like an old, married couple!"

Mal and Inara both froze at the accusation before Shydra continued speaking. "Honestly, Inara, it's about time. I don't think there's an acolyte at your old training house who wasn't graced with a story about 'that infernal Captain Reynolds'..."

Inara shook her head. "Okay, you've made your point..."

"And we're not married!" Malcolm said a bit loudly.

"Right." Inara replied to Malcolm's comment as she crossed her arms in front of her and her posture stiffened.

Seeing Inara's reaction to his last comment, Mal quickly added. "'Course, I'm not saying that it's impossible, or that I never conjured..."

The captain shook his head. "What I mean to say is that I think it's a bit premature for us to be thinking about..."

Inara rolled her eyes and turned to glare at Mal. " Premature! This from the man who married Saffron, or whatever the guai her name was, the night he met her!"

Malcolm huffed and shook his head even as he raised his hands in front of him in a defensive position. "Oh, come on! You're still sore about that?! I didn't even know I was getting hitched that night! Besides, pretty sure that luh suh ceremony weren't legal, considering that woman misrepresented herself and all! And even if it was, that jien huo is dead now, so at worst, I'm a gorram widower, and she's the late Mrs. Malcolm Reynolds!"

"That's comforting." Inara said with a frown.

Malcolm opened his mouth to talk, but Shydra interrupted the captain by clearing her throat. "Actually, as entertaining as it is for me to hear you two bicker, I have some news that I wanted to share with you, Inara. And I hope you don't mind me saying so, but making a call from half a 'Verse away can get quite expensive..."

Malcolm chuckled. "Don't worry about that, we'll accept all of the charges and put it on Nis...I mean, our benefactor's bill. I'm sure he won't mind."

Inara gave Mal a smile before turning back to her friend and nodding. "What Mal said. The captain and I do agree on things occasionally."

Shydra smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. Still, regardless of whose paying for this wave, I have some things I wanted to attend to today, and I don't wish to hold you and Captain Reynolds up for too long. Inara, I wanted to tell you that I've been following that wretched show you were forced to be on, and I saw the part about what our former organization did to you. I can't believe the leadership of the Companions Guild would do something so irresponsible as let Companions die to save a few credits! I wanted you to know that I had nothing to do with that decision and that I am so glad you are recovering from your illness..."

Inara smiled and nodded at the screen. " Thank you, Shydra. You're my friend, and I know you wouldn't do something like that to me. Besides, from what I've been told, it was the council who made that decision..."

Shydra scowled on the screen. "Yes, since that broadcast, Parliament has conducted many enquries into the Companions' Guild business, and I hope those hwen dans get punished severely!"

Malcolm crossed his arms and scowled as well. "I would hope so! Still, I don't put much stock in the Alliance's ability to prosecute rich, powerful people."

Shydra sighed. "You may be right, Captain Reynolds Your transmissions have shown me that the 'Verse is a much more corrupt place than I realized. Still, whatever comes of those inquiries..I've already quit the Companions' Guild for good. I'm not going to support an organization that would willfully put my friends, my sisters, in harm's way, the way they did to you, Inara. Many other Companions are quitting for similar reasons, but some are still awaiting the Alliance's ruling."

Inara nodded. "I'm sure they're doing what they think is right. I know how hard it is to walk away from the only life we've ever known, after all. But I'm glad you've decided to leave. Do you know where you are going to go? You were Trade Baron Captain Murphy White's kept Companion on Persephone, were you not? I know he allowed you a lot of freedom to travel, but there can still be financial penalties for a Companion terminating their contract with a client early. If you need a place to stay for a bit, once Serenity's crews deal with our benefactor is concluded, I'm sure Malcolm can let you stay in one of Serenity's passenger cabins..."

Malcolm shook his head. "Now, wait just a minute! I never said.."

Shydra laughed. "Don't worry, captain, I will not be homeless anytime in the near future! That was the other thing I wanted to tell you, Inara. When I told Murphy about what I'd learned about the Companion's Guild recently, then explained that I wanted to leave that organization, he was very sympathetic. The man even offered to terminate our contract early, without penalty, himself, because he didn't want to do business with the Companion's Guild anymore, either."

Inara nodded. "From what you've told me about him before, Murphy seems like a good man. I'm not surprised he found what the Guild did to me, and who gorram knows how many other Companions, distasteful. Still, I'm surprised the man was willing to let you go so easily. Murphy was never...subtle about being affectionate with you, after all! And you had been his kept Companion for six years!"

Shydra smiled. "Seven, actually. Since a little over a year after his first wife died."

Malcolm's right eyebrow rose slightly at Shydra's choice of words. "First wife? So this Murphy character has been rutting around with you behind his current wife's back..."

Inara glared at Malcolm. "Merciful Buddha! That is none of our business, Mal!..."

Shydra chuckled. "Thank you for trying to defend my honor, Inara, but it's not necessary. No, Captain, Murphy has never remarried. But that is going to change soon, because, well..."

Shydra held up her left hand, to reveal the large diamond ring that was now on her ring finger. Inara's eyes widened as her old friend continued speaking with a large smile on her face. "Murphy asked me to marry him right after he terminated our contract. And I said yes!"

Malcolm looked down at the ground, obviously embarrassed at having jumped to conclusions about Shydra's relationship to Murphy before. "Oh. Um, congratulations, then!"

Inara still looked shocked as she nodded her head and quietly said, "Yes, congratulations!"

Shydra's smile dimmed somewhat at her friend's lackluster response, and the blonde woman quickly added. "I know Murphy is an...older gentleman, Inara. But, besides the fact that he has more than enough money to support me financially, the man has always treated me quite well, and it's not exactly a secret that Murphy has been in love with me for years..."

Inara shook her head. "It's not that. I'm happy for you, Shydra, I am. And since you are no longer a Companion, you are free to marry whomever you want. I'm just...surprised, is all. When you were my mentor at the training house on Sihnon, you always emphasized the importance of not getting too attached to any particular client, but now..."

Shydra shrugged while interrupting Inara. "Well, since I'm no longer a Companion, Murphy is not my client any longer. Besides, as you yourself have learned, keeping an emotional distance from others is easier said than done..."

Malcolm and Inara both resisted the urge to blush as they looked down at the ground, while Shydra did blush on the screen. "And Murphy has always had a way with words, besides the fact that he has always been kind, gentle, and generous towards me. So..."

"So you fell in love with him." Inara finished for her friend and former mentor with a smile on her face. "Shiny. I'm glad that you can finally get married to someone that makes you so happy."

Shydra chuckled, and was just about to reply to the captain's words when Malcolm and Inara's door suddenly opened from the outside. Without even thinking about it, Mal drew his pistol. Barely a second later, the captain had one of his hands around the intruder's neck, as he pinned said individual to the wall across from Mal and Inara's room, while the captain's other hand continued to hold the gun that he was aiming at the intruder's head.

"Captain..." The intruder managed to strangle out the words as he gasped for air. "What the guia! You...know me. I'm Simon..."

Mal nodded. "I remember who you are. I also recollect you and I having a conversation about going into other people's rooms without knocking after River locked herself in one the passenger dorms in order to make herself a bath. I think it went along the lines of...don't. So what I'm having trouble conjuring is how and why you risked life and limb to open my door without permission..."

Inara sighed. The former Companion briefly turned to her friend's image on the screen, said. "I'll send you another wave soon." Then turned off her communication device.

Inara then gave Mal a pointed look the captain couldn't see, since his back was to her at the moment, but Mal heard the edge in Inara's voice when she spoke. "Put the doctor down, Mal." Then, with a sigh, the former Companion added. "Please."

Mal sighed and nodded before withdrawing first his gun, then his hand, away from Simon's person, allowing Serenity's medic to inhale some much needed oxygen. The captain then turned towards Inara and said. "I only let him go because I wanted to, since you said please. Not because I thought I had to do what you say, now that you and I are...something."

Inara rolled her eyes, and unconsciously slipped into her old modus operandi of telling a man what he wanted to hear. "Dohn. You're still the captain, and that hasn't changed because you and I are courting now."

Malcolm grinned. "Just as long as you understand that."

The captain turned back towards Simon and scowled at the doctor. "I conjure you have enough air in your lungs to speak now. Why, and how, did you open mine and Inara's door without my permission?"

"Or mine." Inara quickly added as she shot both men a dirty look. Mal nodded. "Right. Without either mine, nor Inara's permission."

Simon looked indignant as he composed himself. "Most of the locks on this satellite are child's play to hot-wire, and I've had plenty of experience doing so while River and I were on the run. Gorramit! You pointed your gun at my head!"

Mal shrugged. "That's what you get for entering someone else's room uninvited. Besides, it's not like I was actually gonna shoot you. Unless I thought you were going to start a fight, or some such foolishness."

Simon nodded. "Fine. But was it really necessary to choke me?"

Mal smirked. "Necessary, no. Fun? Well..."

Inara walked out into the hallway and stood between Mal and Simon before crossing her arms. "Mal..."

Malcolm sighed. "Fine. The truth is, doc. I was trying to teach you a listen about violating my...and Inara's privacy. Now, want do you want?"

Simon sighed. "I want to talk to you about Jayne and River."

….30 minutes ago...

Simon had been pacing right outside of Serenity's engine room for quite a while by the time Kaylee dropped her wrench for the fifth time in as many minutes. The grease covered mechanic sighed as she got to her feet, walked up to her boyfriend, and spoke. "Guai, Simon! If you won't tell what's bothering you, you could at least stop all that gorram pacing! I can barely hear myself think over the sound of all of that stomping around! So either tell what's bothering you so gorram much, or take your pacing somewhere else, preferably far away from me."

Simon sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be such a gorram distraction while you were working. I'll go somewhere else."

Kaylee sighed and gently put her right hand on Simon's shoulder after the man turned around to leave the ship for the Skyplex's docking area. "Wait. You're obviously upset about something. What's wrong?"

Simon sighed and shook his head. "It's nothing. I should let you get back to fixing Serenity's engine..."

Kaylee shook her head. "Ain't nothing wrong with her engines right now. After Niska had his men soup up Serenity with a bunch of shiny new parts as part of our deal to take part in that 'reality show' go se, the ship's been running like a dream. I'm just doing some routine maintenance is all, it can wait. So please, just tell me what problem's been rutting up your head for the last hour or so. Maybe I can help."

Simon sighed. "I doubt it. I'm just...concerned about whatever's been going on between Jayne and my sister lately. Especially now that's Jayne's finally woken up."

Kaylee froze up for a split second. The moment was gone almost as soon as it began, and Simon missed it when Kaylee's arms, legs, and face all tensed up during that almost infinitesimal moment of time, just before the mechanic shrugged, put a forced smile onto her face and said."What do you mean? You're the man's doctor. Don't you think it's a good thing that Jayne's finally come out of his coma?"

Simon shook his head. "Yes. No. I don't know. A selfish part of me kind of wishes that Jayne never woke up from that coma. Then I wouldn't have to worry about him rutting around with my sister behind my back. For all I know, the two of them are doing that right now!"

Kaylee bit her lip nervously for a second, then frowned at Simon. "That's a guai of a thing to say about a member of our crew! Besides, I actually think it's all sorts of shiny that Jayne and River started out hating each other, then started getting along after all that nastiness on Miranda and Mr. Universe's, and now, they're coupling and all! It's almost like those two are characters from right out of those romantic movies they show on TV sometimes, or one of the old romance novels I used to see in pharmacies before paper became too expensive in the Border Worlds! "

Simon shook his head. "This isn't some kind of fantasy world, this is my sister's real life we're talking about here! And did you seriously just imply that Jayne, of all people, and my gorram sister are a good couple? Don't you think that's overstating things a bit? I mean, Jayne probably just sees River as just another conquest, and River is too messed up in the head to know her own mind..."

Kaylee glared at Simon for a second and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I hate it when you get like this."

Simon frowned. "Like what?"

Kaylee rolled her eyes. "Like a stuck up buhn dahn with his head up his pi gu, who thinks he knows better than everybody else! Especially when it comes to River!"

Simon crossed his own arms, then took a deep breath. "I'm just trying to protect my sister! Ever since I've rescued her from that gorram Academy, I've had to be her caretaker, and her doctor, and her brother, all at the same time! And..."

The hard look in Kaylee's eyes softened a bit then, but the mechanic's arms remained crossed. "And everyone on this ship thinks it's noble as a grape that you've done so much to help your sister. We all know how much you've sacrificed for her since you rescued her from the Academy. Being a doctor on a 'respectable' Core planet, a normal life of not being a fugitive and all. Up 'till Mr. Universe's, even a chance to have any kind of romance in your li..."

Simon sighed, "Kaylee..."

Kaylee shook her head. "No, Simon, I dohn. I get it. As much as I love River, and think of her as a dear friend, I gorram hated that you taking care of your sister kept us apart, but as someone with brothers and sisters of my own, I get it. River's your blood, and she needed you more more than I did. But that was before we sent the Wave to the 'Verse, before Miranda. River's better now, and she can make her own choices. She deserves to have her own life!"

Simon's posture stiffened as he raised his voice slightly. "I'm not trying to stop River from having a life! But since she made the yu bun duh decision not to finish her neurological procedures at the Villa, my sister will always have some psychotic features and..."

Kaylee huffed. "Stop hiding behind your fancy words, Simon! You're River's doctor, not her head shrink!"

Simon scoffed. "Actually, the technical term is psychiatrist..."

Kaylee pointed towards Simon. "That's not the gorram point! If you want to say that River is still crazy, just say it!"

Simon huffed. "Fine, my little sister is still crazy because of some yu bun duh gorram choice that she made because..."

Kaylee shook her head."yu bun duh or not, choosing not to let her brother and father play mad scientist with her brain with some untested procedure was River's decision to make! And that means River's about as sane as she's ever going to get. So what's your plan now, 'Doctor Simon'? Are you just going to make all of your sister's decisions for her, for the rest of her life, just because she's still a little whimsical in the brain pan?! Is that your plan?!"

Simon sighed, then leaned against a wall, and slowly let his body slide down until he was sitting on the floor. "I told you before, I haven't had a plan since I rescued River from the Academy. Ever since that day, when I found my little sister strapped to a chair, with her mind broken...I've been flying blind. All I've ever thought about since then...except for you..."

Simon smiled at Kaylee, who rewarded the doctor with a half smile of her own as she sat down against the wall opposite her boyfriend's, until the mechanic and the doctor's legs were touching, as Simon resumed speaking "Except for you, all I've ever thought about is keeping River safe, or hopefully making her better..."

Kaylee nodded. "Like she was back at your home on Osiris?"

Simon nodded. "Yes."

Kaylee sighed. "Simon, that River's not here no more. Even if you were to get River to agree to some brain surgery, and all her crazy went away, that little girl you knew as a child isn't coming back. She's been through too much for that to happen."

Simon sighed deeply. "She's lost her innocence."

Kaylee shrugged. "Yeah, but so does everybody that's gorram lucky enough to live that long. So have you. Can you really tell me that you're the same spoiled, clueless, tourist that..."

Simon frowned. "Okay, I get your point. I'm not the same person I was back on Osiris, either. And you're right that I can't make River go through a medical procedure that she doesn't want to, since she's shown no signs of trying to harm herself or others, unless 'others' includes people trying to kill us, since Miranda. But that doesn't mean River's mentally equipped to give consent for a sex...romantic relationship..." Simon ignored the way Kaylee smirked when he switched his wording from sexual to romantic, and kept talking. "I just don't want Jayne, or anyone, to take advantage of my little sister, that's all."

Kaylee sighed, then put her hand on one of Simon's kneecaps. "I understand you're worried. But who gets to decide when River can give consent, then? You? Your father? The doctors at the Academy, who know more about River's brain than you ever will?"

Simon glared at Kaylee. "Of course, not! Don't even make jokes about that place!"

Kaylee sighed and nodded. "Okay, mentioning the Academy was a bridge too far. My point is, since River's always going to be just a mite crazy, when are you going to give up trying to run her life and let her decide for herself who to love?"

Simon put his head in his hands. "I don't know. This whole situation is just go se! I mean, maybe if River hadn't picked Jayne..."

Kaylee shook her head. "Don't try to hide behind that excuse. If River had fallen for some nice Core boy on Osiris, while still whimsical in the brain pan, I'm pretty gorram sure that we'd still be having the same conversation."

Simon laughed. "You're probably right! I guess I'm just used to River and I being close, and the idea of her opening up to someone else, even if it's in a very different way...that's hard for me. But overprotective big brother issues, and my amenity towards Jayne, aside, as her doctor, I still worry about River's ability to give consent..."

Kaylee lightly hit the back of her head against the wall behind her. "And we're back to that again. Let me ask you this, have you ever known Jayne to try to rape a woman, or to take advantage of a woman in any way when she wasn't in her right mind...'

Simon started to open his mouth, before Kaylee added. "Ever for the first part, and when Jayne weren't drunk himself for the second?"

Simon shook his head and sighed. "No. And as much as I don't like him, I don't think Jayne is trying to take advantage of my sister, at least in that way. But Jayne isn't a doctor, and he has no way of knowing whether River is psychologically well enough to consent to a romantic relationship."

Kaylee frowned again, and quiet prevailed in the hallways of Serenity for a minute until Kaylee smiled and said. "Did I ever tell you about my maternal grandparents, Kaywinette and Lucius Freye?"

Simon smiled and nodded. "I think you mentioned them in passing once. You were named after your grandmother, right?"

Kaylee nodded. "Yeah, and my great, great grandmother. It's a family name. Anyway, did I ever mention that my grandmother and grandfather got married when they were both seventeen, and that they stayed together until they both died, less than a year apart, when they were well into their eighties?"

Simon shook his head. "No. I don't remember you mentioning that. It sounds like they had a really solid marriage, though.'

Kaylee smiled. "They did. Even by the time I was old enough to start remembering things about them, they were holding hands everywhere they went, and one of them would always smile when the other entered the room. It was easy to see that they still loved each other, even when they were old."

Simon smiled. "We should all be so lucky."

Kaylee frowned. "Yeah, but their marriage weren't all sunshine and roses, though, especially near the end. My grandfather, Lucius, starting getting whimsical in the brain pain near the end of his life. The last five years were the hardest for him though, when the brain disease he had, demon...something, got really bad."

Simon frowned. "Dementia?"

Kaylee sighed. "I think that was the one. Anyway, near the end, my grandfather forgot nearly everything, the plots of his favorite books, the day of the week, birthdays, anniversaries, and eventually, sometimes even the names and faces of the people he loved. Half the time, he didn't even remember who my grandmother was."

Simon looked at Kaylee intently. "That must have been hard. For both of them."

Kaylee nodded. "It really was. I lost count of the times that my grandmother, who was living with my family at the time, came home crying because her husband didn't even remember her name. And I can't imagine what it was like for my grandfather to remember the woman he loved, over and over again, knowing that he would probably forget her again soon. But my grandmother never stopped visiting my grandpa at his rest home, every day. And sometimes, Lucius would remember grandma Kaylee for a little while. I also know that, sometimes when that happened, my grandma wouldn't come back to my folks' place until the next morning, or even the next afternoon. I never really wanted to think about what those two were doing all night but, you know..." Kaylee cleared her throat.

. "You think there was still love in that relationship, even after your grandfather was, how did you put it? Whimsical in the brain pan?" Simon guessed.

Kaylee nodded. "Yeah."

Simon sighed. "And you seriously think that's how it is between River and Jayne?'

Kaylee shrugged. "Not yet. But in time, maybe, yeah. Perhaps River and Jayne could build something really special together, even if River's not all that right in the head. You said yourself that Jayne wouldn't purposely take advantage of River, and with the way that those two were looking at each other when I saw River leading Jayne by the hand in his hospital gown a couple hours ago..."

"You saw what!?" Simon shouted, and Kaylee's eyes widened as she realized she had just made things worse by letting that particular bit of information slip at the exact wrong time.

Kaylee shook her head and stood up while Simon did the same. "Everything will be shiny, Simon! You'll see!"

"Everything will be shiny?" Simon whispered, with an undercurrent of rage belaying his quite tone of voice.

Kaylee nodded. "Yeah. I know it sounds a bit crazy, but Jayne and River really look like they..."

"Everything will be shiny!?" Simon repeated himself loudly, interrupting Kaylee as he did so. "My mei-mei is somewhere on this station now, alone with a stupid, selfish, impulsive chwen joo gorilla, doing who gorram knows what, and my girlfriend lied to me about it!"

Kaylee glared at Simon and crossed her arms. "You take that back right gorram now! I've never lied to you, Simon, lest of all about River!'

But Simon glared right back. "Don't they teach you what a lie of omission is on the Border, Kaylee?! Keeping a secret this big, about my sister, is just as good as lying!"

Kaylee sighed, but her glare remained. "I didn't gorram think about that, okay?! I'm sorry I hurt your feelings by not telling you what River and Jayne were up to. But the only reason I didn't tell you about that was because I was afraid you'd react like this!"

"Like what?!"

Kaylee huffed. " Like a gorram sha gwa with a stick up his pi gu! That you'd pull this "overprotective big brother" go se all over again!"

Simon shook his head. "I can see now that we're not going to see eye to eye about this, Kaylee. So there's no use talking any more. I'm going to find the captain, now, and he and I are going to get some answers from Jayne concerning his intentions towards my sister!"

As Simon began to storm off of Serenity in an indignant huff, he stopped for only a moment when Kaylee yelled after him. "Fine! Be that way! But if you keep trying to control River's life, Simon, I promise you, you will lose her, and she will run eventually away from you, with or without Jayne's help!"

Simon continued walking out of the Firefly-class smuggling ship then, but his steps were slower, less certain now. And when the young doctor's hand was on the handle that opened the cargo bay doors, his fingers stopped moving for five whole seconds when Kaylee shouted. "And if you don't get your head out of your pi gu sometime soon, and stop being such an insufferable jerk, you just might lose me too!"

But with a heavy sigh, Simon pulled the handle anyway, causing the air to hiss around him as oxygen flooded out of Serenity, and into Niska's Skyplex. And if there were tears in the young doctor's eyes when he exited the ship, Simon didn't let anyone see them before he wiped them away. For there was no time for tears when he had a mission to accomplish.

….Present...

Simon's mission to get the captain to force River and Jayne apart quickly ended in abject failure as Mal shook his head and said, "No,"

Simon sighed and said, "All I said was that I wanted to talk about..."

Mal frowned. "About your little sister's relationship with Serenity's public relations specialist. I heard you. But I have no interest in discussing your little sister's love life, or that of anybody on my ship! Besides, as creepifying as I think whatever the guai is going on between those two is, it ain't my place to tell anybody on my ship who they can spend time with, unless it interferes with things running smooth on Serenity."

Inara nodded. "Besides, River's a woman now, Simon. She can choose for herself who she wants to love."

Simon shook his head, ignoring Inara's words as he glared at the captain. "You were the one that used to say that you didn't want any domestic relationships on your ship..."

Mal snorted. "Yeah, and then my first mate married my pilot, my ship's doctor ended up with my mechanic..."

Simon looked away in embarrassment when the captain gave the young doctor a pointed look, then continued speaking. "And then me and Inara, well..."

Inara still managed to look elegant and formal at that moment, despite the fact that she wasn't wearing a wig, and that she was only dressed in her nightgown at the moment, as her posture straightened, and she gave Simon a cool look. "The captain and I have obviously gotten closer lately. Anything beyond that is none of your business, Doctor Tam. Now if you're quite finished disturbing mine and Malcolm's evening, I would appreciate if you would leave..."

Simon crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. "Not until the captain and I discuss how Jayne is, right at this very moment, taking advantage of my brain damaged sister somewhere on this station!"

The young doctor then added, as he continued to glare at Mal. "You, of all people, know that Jayne can't be trusted after Ariel..."

Mal glared right back at Simon. " I thought you'd said you'd let that go. Regardless, since I'm captain, I'll be deciding who gets trusted around here! Jayne and I already had words about what happened on that world, and I made it pretty gorram clear to him that if he ever betrayed a member of my crew again, he would suffer for it. I think he got the message. So now, whatever happened back then is between you, your sister, and Jayne, and it's pretty clear to me that River's moved past that day! If Jayne does anything to hurt the Albatross, he and I will have words then, but unless it interferes with things on Serenity going smooth, I have nothing to say about the domestic affairs of my crew!"

The moment, that the captain had finished speaking these words, the door to the room which was just to the left of Inara and Mal's room, Mattie's quarters, opened. But instead of Mattie, it was Zoe Washburne who stepped out of the younger Cobb brother's room. As Mal, Inara's and Simon all turned to Zoe, none of them failed to notice that Zoe's rumpled clothes looked like they had put on on haste, and even the gun in Zoe's hands couldn't distract the Serenity crew members from the sound of a man's snoring coming from the room behind Zoe. But Zoe ignored the bemused looks that Inara, Mal, and Simon threw her way as she looked right at the captain. "I heard yelling, captain, is everything in order out here?"

Mal raised his right hand, moved his index finger back and forth between Zoe and the room she had just exited, then sighed and said." Yes. Everything's fine." Mal gave Simon a hard look. "The doc had some reservations about his little sister's dealings with Jayne, but he understands that he's to mind his own business now.. Simon was just about to back to his quarters."

When Malcolm Reynolds back towards Zoe, he quickly added. "Any developments on your end that could cause problems with our public relations officer?"

Zoe's face was still impassive, but she wouldn't meet Mal's eyes when she said, "Nothing to report, Sir. Mattie and I were availing ourselves of some Niska's spirits, and things got slightly out of hand. Nothing you need concern yourself with, Captain."

Mal nodded. "Good. Serenity has enough domestic troubles without adding anything new to the..."

But the captain's words were cut off as the elder Tams suddenly ran into the hallway in front of his and Inara's room, from one side of Niska's Skyplex, while Kaylee ran into the same space from the other side of the space station. "Is everything alright, we heard yelling?" "Simon, are you okay?!"

As Inara explained what had just been happening to the elder Tams, Kaylee rushed to her boyfriend's side and inspected the bruise starting to form on Simon's neck. The mechanic then glared at the captain. "What did you do to my boyfriend, Captain!?"

And this point, three pairs of eyes, Kaylee and the elder Tams, all glared at captain Reynolds, who held his hands in front of him in a defensive stance. "Hey, the doctor broke into mine and Inara's room to talk to me about something that weren't any of my business! He violated our privacy!

Kaylee glared at Simon for a second, but then redirected her anger towards her captain, as her concern for her boyfriend outweighed her anger towards him."And that gives you the right to choke Simon?! Don't you think you were overreacting just a little bit, Captain!?"

Mal shook his head. "When have I ever been known to overreact?!"

Everyone else in the hallway gave Mal a look then, Inara smirked, and Zoe spoke in a dry tone. "Would you like me to answer you chronologically, or alphabetically, Sir?"

Before Mal could open his mouth with a retort, everyone was silenced by the sight of a tall, muscular man, walking into the hallway. Jayne Cobb was wearing a matching set of green pants, shirt, and socks that were clearly to small for him, but the anger in the merc's eyes promised a fight to anyone who pointed out his ridiculous apparel "Don't say a word. These were the biggest clothes I could find in Niska's room!"

Inara smiled, Kaylee had to cover her mouth to keep from giggling, and even Simon looked amused when Zoe said. " Actually, it's a shiny look for you, Jayne. It's just too bad that you're centuries too late for your audition as an elf on Earth that was!"

Everyone except Zoe, who just kept smirking, and Jayne, whose face was redder than a tomato now, started laughing then. But their laughter was cut short when Jayne looked at Mattie's bedroom door, which was still open, and the state of Zoe's clothing and said. "Could be worse. At least I'm not the one who's just been yet another victim of "lady killer Mattie!"

Zoe glared at Jayne. "You say another word, I'll..."

Jayne was clearly not intimidated as he interrupted his dark-skinned senior officer. "You'll what, kill me?! I don't think Mattie would like that very much, do you?! And since when am I not allowed to take pride in my little brother's accomplishments?! Besides, I think he's actually taken a special shine to you, Zoe."

"Really?" Zoe blushed. The red in her cheeks vanished almost as soon as it appeared, but Jayne saw it well enough, before the first-mate shook her head and said. " I mean, Mattie and I are just really good friends."

Jayne snorted, " I never had a friend that good!"

Simon glared at Jayne. "Actually, the only relationship I'm concerned about now is yours and my sister's! Where have you two been since you've woken up, and what have you and River been up to!?"

Jayne scratched the back of his head. "Gorramit, Doc! You really don't want me to answer that! But, um...I'm glad I ran into you anyway, Doc, because I have something I want to talk to you about! You see..."

Jayne sighed as he looked at Simon. "I want you to teach me how to take care of River."

 **Thank you to all my reader's who have been following this story so far! A special thank you goes out to Hawki and Wicked. Onna, who reviewed my last chapter! Again, I have to apologize for taking ages to complete such a short chapter, but inspiration for this story has been in short supply for me as of late. Therefore, although there should only be two or three chapters left in this story, I can't guarantee how soon they'll be out. Sorry about that. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, but please leave your thoughts in a review. And a special thanks goes out to my beloved beta reader, without whom I never would have even started writing this story! Your help is greatly appreciated! Until next time, I am...**

 **-supercode**


	14. An Expected Arrival

Simon glared at Jayne. "I'm sorry. Could you run that by me again?"

Jayne sighed and rolled his eyes at Serenity's doctor. "Come on, doc. You already know I don't like asking for help from folk. "Why do you have to bust my Pi Gu just because I'm asking for your help learning to administer River's medication proper?!"

Simon's eyes widened slightly, but only for a moment, before the doctor was glaring at Jayne again. "Oh, so now you're concerned for my sister's well-being? Did this happen before or after you took advantage of River's precarious mental state by rutting around with her earlier today?"

Jayne glared right back at Simon, ignoring Kaylee as she gasped at her boyfriend's words. "Before. And I haven't taken advantage of nobody. Well, not lately. Not too much, no how. But I certainly didn't take advantage of your sister! 'Precarious mental state' or no, River knew very well what she wanted. I made sure of it before…"

Jayne quickly looked at Reagan and Gabriel Tam, who were watching the conversation between their son and the mercenary with stony looks on their faces, then turned back to Simon and said. "Well, let's just say I was a gentleman with River. If I thought she wasn't ready for, well, you know, I wouldn't have…."

Gabriel Tam coughed. "Yes, I think everyone here gets the picture about what happened between you and my daughter, Mr. Cobb…"

Reagan Tam nodded. "Indeed. I believe a change of subject is in order."

Jayne quickly looked at the faces of all the people in the hallway around him, each wore expressions which ran the gambit from smiles, to smirks, to stoic. The mercenary noted that Simon was the only one glaring and frowning at him at the moment, but the hired gun knew very well that the mood of a room could change faster than lighting, so he decided to tread carefully. "Right…" The mercenary cleared his throat. "Anyway after…that happened, I got to thinking…"

Seeing the incredulous looks from several people in the hallway, especially Zoe, Mal and Inara, Jayne huffed. "Hey, I do some ruminating occasionally! Anyway, I was thinking that if I wanted to…you know, court River proper, I should know how to take care of her when she gets whimsical in the brainpan. Especially when she gets in one of her mood swings."

When the big man shuddered a little, the elder Tams and the crew of Serenity knew Jayne was referring to the "incident" where River had slashed Jayne's chest with a kitchen knife onboard Serenity, and the time that the petite brunette had beat up the big, tough mercenary at a bar, hitting the large man in the gonads for good measure. Simon nodded. "Yes. I can certainly see why you would want to avoid something like that happening again. But you're not a medical professional, Jayne! I am! And I'm pretty gorram sure that I know River's symptoms better than…."

But the argument that would have inevitably transpired between the young doctor and the merc was prevented, or at the very least, delayed, by a loud ringing sound, followed by even louder speaker feedback, coming from the PA system of Niska's Skyplex. These noises, which had made everyone in the hallway cover their ears, were followed by the speaker amplified sound of a man's laughter. "Listen up, everyone! Mr. Niska, our mutual employer and benefactor, is on his way to this station as we speak and will be docking in five minutes! He kindly requests the presence of all you hwen dans at the docking bay at that time! Attendance is mandatory, and anyone who disrespects the Lao Bahn by not showing up on time will find the vacuum of space more forgiving than what he will do to them! I'm not intimidated by the old timer, of course, but…Let's all just show up on time to greet our employer out of common courtesy, Dohn-Ma? What are you still standing around listening to me for? Hustle to the docking bay!"

After Niska's newly appointed head mercury was done talking, a slender arm reached out from behind Inara's back and placed a hairy object into the former Companion's hand. "This is for you. Mrs. Niska won't miss it. "

Inara gaped at the beautiful raven-colored wig now in her hands, then at River, who was skipping as best she could down the hallway wearing an enormous yellow dress that was far too big for her. Everyone in the hallway watched as River tried to kiss Jayne on the cheek, but tripped on the hem of her ridiculous garment instead, causing the usually nimble warrior woman to fall face-first towards the floor…only to be caught in Jayne's large arms.

The mercenary in question tried his best to glare at River for her foolishness, but the half-smile at the corner of his mouth gave him away even before Jayne let a chuckle a moment later. "Wei, woman! I thought you were supposed to be graceful."

River shrugged as Jayne started carrying her towards the Skyplex's docking bay, and everyone, including Inara, who was in the process of putting her new wig on, and Mattie, who had to be forcefully woken up by a shove from Zoe, followed suit. "I usually am. But my clothes are dirty from our recent activities, and Bad Jack Sprat's Lao Puo linens are too large for me. Everything about them is opposite: Cruel and kind, thin and corpulent. They make no sense."

Jayne snorted. "Neither do we. What a ridiculous sight we make, huh? The giant elf and the waif swallowed up in miles of lace."

River laughed. "That's the price we pay for not dressing against type. But I like Man Called Jayne just the way he is. And she knows he admires his warrior woman."

While the elder Tams and the crew of Serenity tried to pretend not to hear anything the newest couple in their group was saying (although the large grin on Mattie's face gave him away). Kaylee tried to distract an obviously annoyed Simon. The mechanic whispered in her boyfriend's ear. "Don't Feng Le Simon. There's no reason to worry none about River and Jayne's business. Especially on account that Jayne obviously cares about your sister if he wants to be tending to her medicines and all. Isn't that a good thing?"

Simon sighed and whispered. "I guess. Maybe Jayne isn't as much of a Joo Bah Jeh as I thought if he's willing to help supervise River's medication. But I'm just not sure that River will respond to Jayne properly when she's in one of her more…intense moods, and needs to be brought down with antipsychotics. And I'm still not certain Jayne can be trusted to administer medicine properly…"

River laughed from her position in Jayne's arms. Despite the fact that the petite brunette, and the large man carrying her were far ahead of the others in the long hallway leading to the docking bay, and well out of earshot of Simon and Kaylee's conversation, neither the young doctor nor the mechanic where surprised when the psychic yelled loud enough to interrupt them. "Jayne will do fine, once my overprotective Ghuh teaches him to administer her meds. And my boyfriend is strong enough to keep me from hurting anyone when I'm more moon brained than usual. And Simon can still help adjust my dose and change my meds if I get too wild."

Simon frowned and shook his head as he turned to Kaylee and whispered. "You know, my sister's abilities are a bit unsettling when she's experiencing derealization, but when she uses them to interrupt conversations during her more lucid periods…" Simon raised his voice loud enough that he knew River could hear him. "She's just annoying."

River raised her head over Jayne's shoulder to look right at her brother and stick her tongue out slightly. Simon rolled his eyes. "And she's still such a brat."

Kaylee and Mattie both laughed at the young doctor's loud remark, Zoe and Mal smirked, and Jayne tried not to laugh for fear of what the deadly young woman in his arms would do to him if he even thought about agreeing with Simon's assessment of his sister's maturity. But the elder Tams were less amused by their children's behavior. Reagan Tam sighed. "Do you two really still bicker like five-year olds? You and River are adults now, Simon. Act like it!"

"Yes, mother." Simon and River laughed after speaking the same words simultaneously in similar sarcastic tones of voice, and Gabriel Tam rolled his eyes at his foolish children. Soon after, the crew of Serenity and the elder Tams reached the hangar, where Niska's merc team had already gathered.

Seconds after the crew reached the hanger (thirty-two by Rivers count, although it could have been thirty-three, because she wasn't sure if Jayne giving her a surprise peck on the lips just before sitting her down on the cold metal floor had thrown her count off), a large ship docked. It didn't take a genius to figure out who was in the large, ruined-looking blood red ship, but everyone's conclusions were confirmed when an old man stepped out the ship, while a larger figure remained standing behind him inside the vessel, just out of the others field of view.

Niska whispered something to the person behind him, smiled, then turned back towards Malcolm Reynolds and his crew. The older man didn't take his eyes off of the captain of Serenity as Niska walked down his shuttle ramp. Even as he whispered something to his new mercenary captain, Niska kept one eye on Mal.

Finally, almost three minutes after his ship docked in the Skyplex's hangar, Mr. Niska frowned at Mal and spoke. "Sorry to keep you all waiting so long, but my absence was…how do you say? Unavoidable. Revolutions are a messy, unpleasant matter, but they create many, shall we say, opportunities for individuals like myself. Alas, there are also new dangers along the Rim now. There was also the…inconvenience of needing to use your tactic, Captain Reynolds, to take a detour through what's left of Reaver space to avoid some unsavory characters who were taking advantage of the new situation as well. Men, who were not as…sophisticated as myself, They gave my wife quite a fright."

The old man chuckled. "But they will not be making that mistake again, I think. But enough chit chat. Malcolm Reynolds…." Niska frowned and his eyes became serious. "You and I have some business to discuss."

 **AN: Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoyed this chapter, as short as it was. I must once again apologize for the lateness and brevity of my latest update. Due to situations beyond my control, such as not having a computer of my own anymore, lack of inspiration for this story, my beta reader not having as much free time etc. the remaining chapters of this story will more than likely be short as well. However, as a result, there may be more chapters remaining in this story than I had originally planned to write. So I hope that's some consolation at least. A thank you goes out to all my readers, especially bjq and Hawki, who each left a review for the last chapter.**

 **A very special thank you goes out to my beta reader. You mean the 'Verse to me.**

 **As always, any feedback is appreciated. Thanks again for reading! Until next time, I remain…**

 **supercode**


	15. It Ain't Over Until

Mal was just about to respond to Niska's announcement that they had business to discuss, but the older man stopped him by raising his hand instead as he glared at the former Companion who was standing just to the left of the captain. Niska pointed to the top of Inara's head and spoke in a calm tone that contrasted the anger behind the bespectacled man's eyes. " Is that my wife's…how do you say? Wig?"

Inara gulped, and then replied with a slight bow. "Our most honored hosts, I can explain. I needed a decent wig for my bald..."

Niska chuckled, but the dangerous look in the old man's eyes remained. "There is nothing to explain. You have stolen from me. You chwen took personal effects from the one room in my domain that was forbidden to you. The how's and why's are irrelevant. You are all thieves!"

Niska looked towards Jayne and River, who were still wearing Niska and his wife's clothes, respectfully. "Ridiculous looking fools! I took you in my home! Let you eat my food, drink my wine, and denied you sha gwa nothing, except for the contents of one room, and you still stole from me! That will not stand."

Jayne moved to speak, but River covered his mouth while Mal shook his head and said. "Now wait a second…River and Jayne didn't take much. I'm sure we can make some kind of deal to…"

"There will be no deal!" Niska shouted before lowering his voice again. "Captain Reynolds, I was going to give you and your crew more money than you could ever dream of for services rendered. Enough for you to…what is expression? Live like kings. Instead…" Niska sighed dramatically. "I'm afraid you will all have to die now."

Niska's mercenaries all pointed their guns at Mattie and Serenity's crew; River and Jayne both instantly crouched into fighting stances, but without weapons, and in their ill-fitting garments, they were not a very imposing sight. The elder Tams, Mattie, and the rest of the crew, on the other hand, opted to bargain for the crew's lives instead. "Now, wait just a minute!"

"Mr. Niska, I'm sure we can still settle this like civilized people!"

"Please forgive my sister and her stupid kai tze, River's a little whimsical in the brainpan, and Jayne's a moron." "Surely we can come to some arrangement!..."

But Niska heard none of the Serenity crew's pleas, nor the elder Tam's entreaties on their behalf. Instead the old man smiled malevolently and held up his right index finger. Niska began to lower his finger in a forward motion, signaling a kill order.

"hwen dan! Don't you dare harm a hair on their heads, Addy!"

Every pair of eyes in the room, bar River's and Niska's, widened at that moment, as a very large woman in a black dress walked out of the ship Niska had emerged from moments ago. River smiled knowingly while Niska gulped. "Christiana, I told you to wait in the ship while I discussed business!"

The large woman walked slowly down the ramp of the ship to glare at Niska. By now, pretty much everyone in the hangar had guessed that the 300+ pound blue-eyed woman, who was currently wearing a blonde wig that looked convincing enough that it would have fooled Serenity's crew (sans River) if Inara weren't already wearing one of the woman's wigs, was Niska's wife. But if anyone felt it humorous that a hardened crime boss like Niska was married to such a large woman, they wisely kept such thoughts to themselves as Christiana resumed speaking, or rather, yelling, at her husband. "And let you gun down the cast of my favorite reality show, which has three of my favorite ships in it?! No way in guai! It's bad enough that you killed my nephew…"

Niska rolled his eyes, but lowered his hand as he did so, and the mercenaries around him all lowered their weapons as their employer said. "Must we bring that unpleasantness up again!? Your nephew had to die! Not only was he…what is word?! Incompetent, he was stealing money from me, from us! Downsizing him was necessary!"

Christiana glared right back at her husband, and the old married couple bickered for the next two minutes in a language nobody else in the room knew. However, based on the smile on River's face, and the several times she had to cover her mouth to cover up a chuckle, it was obvious that the reader was still able to follow the conversation just fine. Everyone else waited with baited breath, however, until Niska threw up his hands and said. "Go se! Fine, I'll let them live…for now."

Christiana just crossed her arms and huffed at that statement, but the smile on her round face made it obvious she knew she had won this particular argument with her husband. Adelei Niska sighed and then pointed at River, Jayne, then Inara, one at a time. "But those…garments are coming out of your cuts!"

Mal nodded. "That seems fair."

Adelei Niska started walking towards the center of the ship, and his wife waddled behind him as the thin old man called out. "Well, what are you waiting for Captain Reynolds? Your crew, Mr. and Mrs. Tam, and I have much to discuss, and my wife and I are famished! We should discuss things over dinner in the dining room, yes?"

The elder Tams, Mattie and the crew of Serenity followed Mr. and Mrs. Niska to the dining area, leaving the mercenaries behind, even as several servants finally left the ship the Niskas had exited several minutes ago to trail behind the others. Within minutes, Mr. and Mrs. Niska, Mattie, the elder Tams, and the crew were all seated at a table, being served salads by the servants, a small Caesar for most of them, and a large chicken salad for Christiana, who started to wolf her appetizer down with a fork as soon as the servant's hand left her salad bowl. After the servants left to prepare the next course, Mr. Niska turned to Malcolm and said. "Now, as I said. Business. The events at Miranda, and at the satellite of the man you once called Mr. Universe…"

"God rest him…" Christiana made a cross over her chest in between mouthfuls of food, causing her husband to roll his eyes and say. "Yes, yes. Poor, strange little man. Very sad. Those events wounded the Alliance, no? Turned the Border worlds against them all over again. But this was not enough. The people of the 'Verse, they need to see how the Alliance hurt individuals! Pain is easy to see up close, yes? Then, I say to myself, even people in the Core will turn against their purple bellied masters…"

Malcolm nodded. "Right. That was the reason for the feng le reality show you made me and my crew take part in. Did it work as well you wanted?"

Mr. Niska laughed. "Yes! Yes, Mr. Reynold's, mine and Mrs. Tam's plan was a…how do you say…smashing success! Parliament's popularity is at all time low, there is civil unrest across the 'Verse, even on core worlds, especially Osiris, and Alliance government has authorized a...how did those gorram politicians put it, honey?"

Christiana smiled as she finished off her salad before most of the other members of the table had even gotten half-way through theirs, and River was still making faces using the croutons and dressing in her appetizer, before the large lady said "Temporary removal of peacekeepers from Border and Rim space to deal with threats at home. You finally did it, Addy! You made those Purple bellies take their go se and run home with their tails between their legs!"

Malcolm chuckled at Mrs. Niska's turn of phrase, Mattie and Jayne both guffawed loudly, and Zoe and River both smiled slightly at Mrs. Niska's words before Adelei smiled widely. "Yes, dear. Our son is finally avenged." Everyone else at the table, bar River, who was now arranging her small salad in the shape of various constellations, openly stared as the most ruthless crime lord they had ever met held his large wife's hand for several seconds with a smile at Christiana, before Adelei removed his hand and cleared his throat. "Also…there was little matter of profit, yes? Without Alliance oversight, my criminal enterprise has been able to make...what is phrase? Aggressive expansions in the past few hours. Despite the financial losses caused by the recent unpleasantness at the Villa, as well as the unfortunate deaths of many of my men there, who's families will be well compensated…" The smile on Mrs. Niska's face, and Adelei's grimace, let everyone else at the table know that the recently deceased mercenaries' generous pension plans had been the large woman's idea, before the bespectacled man resumed speaking. "My empire has grown by 300% in the last seventy-two hours, and is continuing to do so as we speak!"

Mrs. Niska rolled her eyes as the second course of the meal, two large platters, filled with dinner rolls, arrived at the table, and the large woman was already buttering two rolls for herself before anyone else at the table had even touched one. " You just had to ruin the moment by bringing business up before we can even start celebrating avenging our son!"

The thin old man at the table sighed. "I told you, Christi, this is business meeting. Besides… business pays for all the food you love to eat so much!"

Christiana glared at her husband between bites of her dinner roll. "Hwen dan! You know I don't eat like this all the time! This is stress eating! And I do this a lot more than I like because you have such a dangerous job! Because of your plan, we came this close…" The large woman held out the thumb and index finger as closely together as she could without them touching as she said. "To getting caught by reavers! Do you know that they cannibalize their victims as long as possible before they kill them, Addy?! That's what the stories say…"

By this point, everybody else at the table had lost their appetite, and had pushed their food away to watch the old married couple at their table fight. Everyone except River. River was now trying her best to arrange two shredded up rolls and her still uneaten salad into letters to represent the entire periodic table of elements.

Mr. Niska shook his head. "These stories are just talk. Just gossip…"

The large woman shook her head and seemed on the verge of tears when she cried. "Well if the gossip was true, you would have been dead within seconds of them taking us! A skinny man like you would have been just a snack to those feng le animals, but a fat lao puo like me might have taken days for them to eat!"

Adelei looked uncomfortable now, and the old man cleared his throat and said. "You must excuse my wife; she has been through a…ordeal recently. Give me just a moment to sort this out. Then we can discuss business, yes?"

Adelei turned to his wife, and the old married couple talked in a foreign language again for the next several minutes as everyone waited patiently for them to finish their discussion. Everyone except Jayne Cobb, that is. Jayne turned to his new girlfriend and whispered in her ear as River continued to play with her food. "I don't like not knowing what people are saying right in front of me. I know you're a reader and all. Can you tell me what they're saying?"

River kept trying to form part of a dinner roll into the shape of a "u" as she smirked and whispered back. "Some of their conversation is…private. For Jack Spratt and wife's ears only…"

Jayne shook his head at the sight of the meanest hwen dan he had ever met, and his corpulent wife, making eyes at each other while talking, and he tried hard not to imagine what some of the private subjects that this strange couple were discussing were before River added. "The big time crime boss is also insuring his wife he would never allow her to come to harm, and that she does not look that fat…"

Jayne couldn't help but chuckle softly at that. "Compared to what, the gorram room?"

Without even looking up from her salad, River slugged Jayne in the arm. "Ow! What did you do a gorram thing like that for?!"

River sighed and gave up on her attempt to turn her appetizer into a full periodic table, although she looked to be on the edge of tears as she pushed her plate away. "Not right. Wanted to remain one with the elements, but cruelly pulled away from the bosom of the goddess of love! So much like the dead Gaia's warm embrace that they couldn't tell the difference! Now the beautiful Olympian's offspring are without a warm home and descending into the abode of Hades, if they are not consumed by Gaia's children first!"

River spoke in a forlorn tone while looking at her abandoned salad. "She is sorry that she cannot make you all one with the 'Verse again!"

Jayne shook his head. "I don't have a gorram clue what you're saying, girl. But I want to know why you hit me!"

River shook her head and whispered, and a few tears did manage to leak out of her eyes as she spoke. "Man-called-Jayne was being mean to the round one that saved Peace and her crew one and another occasion and girl lashed out at him, just like she did in Peace's kitchen, even after promising him she wouldn't hurt him! Even without old men in white coats screaming into her brain pain, girl is still only weapon! Where she goes, pain and death follow!"

River then got up from the table and ran away, causing Adelei to look up from his conversation with his wife and glare at Captain Reynold's. " I suggest you rein that xiao me mei in, before one of my men has to! And I believe…you will not like how they do this. Is my meaning clear to you, captain?"

Mal sighed and rose to get up from his chair. "Shiny. I'll fetch River, then you and I will conclude our business, and we'll be off your space station! Simon, I might need your help to get your sister! Fetch whatever medicines you need ."

Simon was already standing before the captain of Serenity had finished that sentence. "I think I already have the perfect concoction in mind. With the right mixture of antipsychotics and tranquilizers, I should be able to sedate River long enough to."

"No." Jayne stood up as well with a determined look on his face. "I won't let you put River to sleep again! Not unless it's a big gorram emergency, which this ain't! She hates it when you make her sleep! Those tranquilizers give River nightmares!"

Simon glared at Jayne. "I am not just River's brother, I'm also her doctor! And I will not have a pi gu like you make medical decisions for River just because you're her kai tze1"

"Wait." Simon's eyes widened, and the anger in them turned to suspicion. "How did you know that River has nightmares when I sedate her? She says she doesn't even remember her dreams when she's knocked out…"

Jayne sighed. "She don't remember, not consciously no how…."

Now the elder Tams and the rest of Serenity's crew were staring at the mercenary as well, as everyone started to pay attention to Simon and Jayne's conversation. Simon shook his head. "What do you mean, not consciously? If River doesn't remember her nightmares, then how could she tell you…"

Jayne growled. "Because I've been inside River's head!"

Kaylee shook her head. "Wait…how is that even possible!?"

Jayne shook his head as well while trying to explain an experience that he was still trying to wrap his head around. 'She knocked on my door, and I opened it, then she opened her door to me…."

Mal grimaced. "Jayne, I can't know that!"

Jayne growled again. "I'm not talking about sexin'. Well, okay, there was some of that going on at the time…" Now Simon and the elder Tams looked uncomfortable too, even as Jayne shook his head and said, "But that ain't the rutting point! I can't explain it! No wonder River's words are so feng le all the time, considering everything she sees that most folks don't. The gorram point is, I know River's mind some. Well enough to know that doping her up ain't the best thing for her right now. She needs to talk to someone. And since I'm the one that made her upset this time, I guess that ought to be me!"

Adelei rolled his eyes as Jayne left the room, "This is all very interesting, but we have business to discuss.."

But his wife interrupted him with a frown as she started eating the soup that was now being served as the third course of the meal." Addy, don't be such a pi gu! Let Rayne have their little lovers' quarrel and make up, before we get back to business! I wanted to talk with the cast of my favorite show for a little bit before we turned in for the night anyway!"

Adelei sighed. "Very well. I suppose we aren't in so much hurry that we can't make small talk, yes?"

Mal scratched the back of his head and spoke to Christiana. "Actually, ma'am, if it's all right with you, I would like to get straight to business and…"

Captain Reynolds stopped talking, however, when he noticed that Mr. and Mrs. Niska were both glaring at him now, and the latter party actually seemed indignant as she said. "Of all the ungrateful hwen dan! Captain Reynold's, I was the one who insisted that my husband pay your crew a king's ransom in order to share your story with the 'Verse! Because I took pity on all of you after hearing your crew's story! The least that you all could do is have a nice chat with me and my husband for five minutes!"

Adelei cleared his throat. "Captain Reynolds, to be quite…what is word? Frank, my wife is the only reason that any of you, other than the Tams, which I owe my life to, are still among the living. So it would be wise for you to indulge Christiana in this small matter and have a nice chat with my wife, if you would like this state of affairs to continue, yes?"

Inara gave Mal a look that clearly said "now you've done it", and the captain of Serenity sighed and said. "When you put it that way…I apologize for my rudeness ma'am, what would you like to talk about? And what, by the way, is Rayne?"

Inara rolled her eyes. "It's River and Jayne's ship name on the Cortex."

Mal blinked. "Uh…what?"

Christiana smiled widely, and Adelei shook his head and muttered. "Now you've done it", before his wife started talking in a loud, enthusiastic tone of voice. "Rayne is River and Jayne's ship name!"

Seeing that Kaylee, Malcolm, Mattie, Simon, and Zoe were all giving her blank looks, while everyone else at the table was shaking their head, Christiana decided to clarify what she meant. "You know…a ship name? Short for relationship? River and Jayne are Rayne, Mal and Inara are Malara, and Simon and Kaylee are…Well, the fans of the show are still working on a name for that one. And Zoe, dear. Can you tell us if you and Mattie are an item? Inquiring minds around the 'Verse want to know! I've got a running bet with my friend Betty as to whether you two have gotten together yet or not! "

Mattie just lowered his head as his cheeks turned red, and Zoe pointedly looked away from the younger Cobb brother as she shook her head and muttered. "Um…Mattie and I are just friends…"

When Mattie's shoulders slumped a bit, an action which Zoe caught out of the corner of her eye, the first mate of Serenity quickly added. "Not that there's anything wrong with Mattie or anything. He's definitely… interesting …"

Simon frowned. "Excuse me, not that this all isn't fascinating, but…can I go help my sister now? River has a genuine brain disorder, and she needs medication for…"

Mal forcefully took Simon by the shoulder and pushed the young doctor back into his seat before he could rise to his feet. "Settle down, doc. We're on a tin can in an ocean of black. Your sister's not going nowhere. Besides, much as it pains me to admit it, Jayne's right. She might need regular medicine, but you can't go doping up River every time she gets temperamental."

Kaylee, Zoe and Inara nodded in agreement, and when Simon turned to his father, Gabriel Tam shook his head and said. "I'm afraid I agree with your captain, Simon. Overmedicating a patient is a rookie mistake that you shouldn't be making, especially with your own sister. River's got to work through her own issues sometimes."

Simon shook his head. "Has the whole 'Verse gone crazy? River has a serious brain condition! She needs her medication!"

"And she's smart enough to know that." Inara replied with a gentle voice. "River's told me many times how grateful she is to have you as her doctor, Simon. But she also tells me that sometimes, the drugs give her headaches…and worse. River does need medicine, but…I don't think it would be wise for you to overdo it. "

Zoe nodded. "River needs to work through her demons on her own terms. Unless there's some rutting emergency, or things get out of hand, maybe you should let her."

Simon sighed and said. "Maybe you're right. But how will I know when River really does needs my help?"

Reagan Tam smiled at her son and put one hand on his shoulder. "You'll know. I'm just grateful that River has so many great friends…and Jayne…" The smile on the elder Tam's face seemed forced when she mentioned the mercenary, but softened again when she added. "To lean on when she has troubles." Reagan briefly looked at each member of Serenity's crew that was seated before she added…"And the best doctor in the 'Verse to care for her when she needs more than friendship to get her head straight."

"Well, the second best anyway!" Gabriel Tam laughed. Simon crossed his arms and shook his head, but there was a smile on his face and a spark in his eyes as everyone else at the table chuckled, and Reagan Tam smiled at her husband and said. "Second best. Of course, dear."

The people at the table heard the distant sound of a young woman's laughter a few seconds before Jayne and River walked back into the room while holding each other's hands. "Do not worry, though. Albatross will never be like that. She likes to run around too much, and food is only fuel to her. But she…I feel better now. You've reminded me that I am a woman, not just a weapon."

Jayne shrugged. "Glad I could help with that." When the mercenary saw that everyone at the table was staring at his and River's joined hands, though, he quickly pulled his hand away, then loudly cleared his throat. "What are you buhn dahn looking at!? Don't we have some gorram business to discuss! I want to know when we're getting paid!"

Every couple in the room smiled at each other for a moment then, and Inara squeezed Mal's hand under the table, before Adelei cleared his throat and said. "Yes. Finally. To business. As we were just discussing, the Alliance regime has been…weakened due to the transmissions from your…unique friend's satellite, an effect that has only increased due to the propaganda piece that my wife and Mrs. Tam…what is word? Inspired me to create. There are still riots raging on Osiris and Londinium. Inquiries on Sihnon into the Companion's Guild's illegal activities, and the Alliance's neglect to prosecute their leaders, are ongoing. Many are calling for the end of the Operative program. And there is a widespread demand for the immediate…resignation of any and all members of Parliament that had anything to do with the fate of Miranda or for the Academy, which has since been shut down, with the promise that all children will be released back to their families soon. Furthermore, according to my sources, around 60% of Alliance citizens believe those politicians should be tried and executed."

"And how unfortunate for the political elite that this all happened during an election year. It's almost as if it was planned that way." Inara said with a smirk while sipping the drink in front of her.

Mr. Niska chuckled. "Indeed. I'm a man who knows the value of …proper timing of investments, yes? And my investments have paid off! The Alliance is quite…busy right now, managing the Core. For the time being, Parliament has chosen to pull all of their forces, including mercenaries, out from the Border and Rim in order to help Alliance peacekeepers make things at home go smooth again." Niska shook his head and making a tssking noise. "It will be some time, I think, before things in the Core go smooth again, yes? In the meantime, who knows? Browncoats may gather their strength again, and new Parliament may set cleaning up house closer to home as a bigger priority than starting another war. And it just so happens that decreased Alliance activity outside Core makes it easier for men like me to do business."

Mal smirked. "When the cat's away, the rats come out to play, is that it? I thought you were going to all this trouble to avenge your son, not just make your purse heavier."

Mr. Niska shrugged and held his wife hand as she began to dig into the course that was now being served: Roast beef. But nobody else, apart from River, who was now greedily putting bits of her favorite food into her mouth at a breakneck pace, while still ignoring the other food on the table, was eating when Adelei replied with a shrug. "Is it, how do you say, too much to ask for both? With your crew's aid, Captain Reynolds, I have killed two birds with one stone. And now, my beloved Christiana and I get to have the pleasure of avenging our son…and making record profits from the Alliance's current…predicament in the Core worlds."

"Which we will be sharing with you!" Christiana, now all smiles again after devouring her roast beef before River was even halfway done with hers, loudly exclaimed before smiling at her husband. "Right, Addy?"

Mr. Niska sighed. "Of course, dear. Captain Reynolds, my wife has persuaded me to give ten percent of the profits from my business to split equally between your crew, for the next five years. This is my estimation of how much money that will be over that period of time."

Adelei wrote a number on a napkin, and showed it to every member of Serenity's crew, shocking everyone but River, who was still eating. Jayne whistled, Mal's eyes widened, and Simon exclaimed "That's a lot of zeroes!" Then Mr. Niska added. "Officially, the Alliance is no longer looking for any of you, so you should have a lot of options for enjoying your new fortune. However, I think it's best if you all avoid the Core for a while, yes?"

Malcolm nodded, and many of the members of Serenity's crew did the same, but the elder Tams looked contemplative as Adelei added. "My men have already taken the…what is word? Liberty of loading the cargo hold of Serenity with your first payment. I trust you can divide it amongst yourself fairly."

Malcolm nodded. "I'll be sure that everyone, including Mattie and Mr. and Mrs. Tam, get their proper share."

While almost everyone else at the table started to talk amongst themselves with excitement about what they were all going to do with their first shares of Niska's money, Jayne allowed himself a small smirk…until River, having finally finished her plate of food, whispered in a voice only Jayne was close enough to hear. "I know what you're thinking. Don't try it."

Jayne gulped. "I don't know what…."

"Don't make me say it out loud in front of Peace's inhabitants." River looked at Jayne like he was an idiot, and the mercenary felt a familiar knocking in his head again. With a sigh, Jayne opened the "door" in his mind's eye. Just a crack, though. Enough that him and River could communicate without words, but not read each other's every thought, like they could earlier that day. 'You're thinking you can skim off the top. Sneak into Peace's bosom and take from others before they noticed it was gone. Take the lion's share of the bounty.'

Jayne sighed, then "replied" to River. 'So what if I did? I wasn't gonna steal from you, if that's what you're so gorram worried about. Not Kaylee neither. Or the captain. Or Simon. Well, maybe Simon…'

River glared at Jayne. 'Man-called-Jayne has enough already. He does not need to steal anymore! He does not need to sow discord with his family!'

Jayne sighed and nodded. 'Yes, feng le.' But there was a smile on his face when he thought it.

River rewarded Jayne with a smile and whispered in the former mercenary's ear. "Man-called-Jayne will be rewarded for his good behavior tonight. She desires to have coitus with her mate again very soon."

Jayne grinned widely as Adelei Niska made a toast to "avenging Gregory and the completion of successful business venture!" Then the old man said "Before we set up the…details of payment plan, I must know. Indulge an old man's curiosity. What are you all going to do with the coin I am about to provide you?"

Everyone in Serenity's crew smiled and looked at each other as they thought about their answer to that question. For they all already had a very good idea what they were going to do with their cut of the profits. Some of them just weren't ready to tell the other's what they wanted yet.

 **AN: I hope you enjoyed the chapter, as short as it was. I would like to thank all my readers, including bjq and Hawki, who reviewed my last chapter, for reading. And a special thank you goes out to my beta reader, for encouraging me to get back to this story. I apologize for yet another long hiatus between chapters, but I am running out of inspiration for this story. So the next chapter will be the last. Thanks again for reading.**

 **-supercode**


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